Eyes and Ears
by Meleba
Summary: Nathan Holt, an agent of The Shadow Broker, is sent to Eden Prime to gather information about the prothean beacon that was unearthed. Something he had not expected was the army of geth and a certain Commander awaiting him. OC/F!Shep
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The Shadow Broker was not paying Nathan Holt nearly enough for this job.

"_Go to Eden Prime_, he said." Holt whispered in a low, bitter voice before putting a bullet in the lens of a geth he had in his sights. "_Find out more about the prothean beacon_, he said." Holt continued his rant as he switched focus to the other geth who looked down at its fallen comrade for a few moments before it registered that they were under attack. "_I want it done quickly and quietly_, he said." He mumbled as he shot the confused geth before it could even bring up its weapon properly. "How the fuck does he expect me to do this quickly with an army of geth crawling around?" The man said with a louder voice now that the threat was gone. He moved out from behind the containers and resumed walking towards the cargo trains.

The Shadow Broker had informed him that The Systems Alliance was sending some big names to check out what they had unearthed here on Eden Prime, so it was obviously important enough for Holt to be sent here as well. With the presence of the geth it looked like The Alliance needed to learn how to hide their secrets better. The prothean beacon had been moved from where intel told him it would be. A dead colonist had earlier 'given' him a datapad that contained the new location of the beacon, which was on the other fucking side of the colony. He had only arrived a few hours ago but the fighting had already died down. The colony didn't stand a chance against the geth horde that had taken them by surprise. Also, the giant ship in the distance probably wasn't helping their morale. Holt had already sent pictures of the ship to The Shadow Broker, hopefully it would earn him a bonus.

A sudden, lone gunshot was heard in the distance. "Not distant enough..." Holt whispered as he brought his rifle up, ready for any geth that he might run into, as he made his way towards where he had heard the shot. It was in the same direction as the cargo trains so it couldn't hurt to check out.

He came upon what seemed to be some sort of storage area, plenty of containers and boxes surrounded him. "Plenty of ambush places..." He reminded himself, listening for any sound that might escape from anyone trying to take him by surprise. Rounding a few larger containers, he came upon a body on the ground that was clearly anything but geth judging by the pool of blood forming under it. Getting closer he could see that it was a dead turian he had stumbled upon. 'A turian with enough firepower to wipe out a whole colony...' He thought to himself, trying to figure out why a turian so heavily armed would be here. There was no way anyone answering to any distress call would have arrived already. This turian must have been on Eden Prime for a reason other than the geth, like the beacon. "First the geth and now whoever this turian is with. The Alliance is leaking more than a quarian on spike mat." He chuckled to himself. By the rate this was going he wouldn't need to report anything to the Shadow Broker since everything about the beacon would be public by the end of the week.

A low sound suddenly caught his attention. It was a sound that wasn't meant to be made which meant that someone, or something considering there were geth in the area, was trying to sneak up on him. "You got three seconds to show yourself before I start shooting." He said loud enough for the other party to hear.

"Don't shoot! Please don't shoot!" A skinny young man jumped out from behind a couple of boxes. Holt now realised why he had not noticed the man until now. It was not that he was stealthy in any way, he was just insignificant. "I'm not with them!" Holt just rolled his eyes to that.

"Yeah, well. You having actual skin pretty much gave that away." He said while lowering the weapon he had aimed straight for the man. This one was of no threat and he probably had some valuable information on him. "So tell me, who killed this turian?" He nodded towards the lifeless body on the ground next to them.

"It was that other-" Was all he managed to get out before they were interrupted.

"Don't move!" A female voice suddenly called out to them. Holt drew his weapon towards the three soldiers that were doing the same towards him. Alliance soldiers by the look of them, one of them bearing the N7 emblem. The original plan had been to infiltrate the colony but that had gone out the window as the geth had invaded shortly after he set foot on the planet. His attire right now was not gonna help him convince them that he was with The Alliance and he was way too armed to pass for a colonist. "I'm Commander Jane Shepard of The Systems Alliance." She stated with a commanding voice, never once taking her aim off his head with that assault rifle of hers. "Who are you and who killed that turian?" Shepard was a name Holt recognized, she was the hero of the Skyllian Blitz a couple of years back. Her red hair was just as fiery as he remembered when he had seen her in the news. Those green, radiant eyes pierced him more here in person than they had ever done from a screen. Shadow Broker was not kidding when he said that The Alliance was sending some big names to handle this situation with the beacon.

"He's clearly not Alliance, Commander." The male soldier next to her said. "And Nihilus did not die from a geth weapon by the state of that wound." The name Nihilus rang several bells in his head but Holt couldn't quite place it.

"And that shot we heard was clearly coming from a big-ass weapon." The other female soldier added. "Like a sniper rifle, for example." She said while motioning towards the weapon in Holts' hands.

The situation was not in his favor. Shepard, a bloody war hero, backed up by two other soldiers had him in their sights. Running away would be easy if he activated his cloak but that would make him seem even more suspicious. Having to hide from the geth was impossible enough without having an Alliance hero looking for you as well. If he made these three into his enemies he would never get enough information about the beacon to please The Shadow Broker. "I'm just someone who's on Eden Prime for personal reasons." He calmly said, his weapon still aimed at Shepard, the biggest threat here.

"And Nihilus?" Shepard asked, clearly not happy about his first answer but more eager to find out the killer of the turian.

"Dead when I found him." Holt noticed that none of them were really keeping an eye on the man who had been hiding. "Ask this guy, he was here before me." He said while motioning towards the insignificant one, as he had nicknamed him.

"Is he telling the truth?" Shepard asked the man.

"Y-Yes ma'am! It was that other turian who did it!" The man nearly wet himself as Shepard's glare switched towards him. She narrowed her eyes and simply looked between Holt and this other man for a while. His answer did seem to make her relax a bit as she, without fear, put her weapon away. Her two colleagues didn't follow her though.

"Alenko, Williams, stand down!" She ordered, to which they obeyed. Holt lowered his weapon as well, no point in fighting where it wasn't needed. "There was another turian here...?" Shepard asked while hinting that she wanted the man's name.

"P-Powell." He said while making a floppy salute. It was clear this person had never been in an army. "And yes, another turian. I think they knew each other."

"Did you get the name of this other turian?"

"Salem or something like that." Holt couldn't help but chuckle lightly. _Something like that_ is not an answer that someone like a commander wants.

"_Something like that_ is not an acceptable answer, Powell." Shepard said as she clearly had no patience for this.

"S-Sarel or Sore- Saren!" He almost yelled out as his memory came back to him. Saren was a name that Holt knew about. One of the best Spectres around and not a name he had expected to hear on Eden Prime. And not one Shepard had expected to hear either, it would seem.

"Saren, are you sure?" She said as she looked back towards her companions. They seemed just as surprised as their Commander

"I'm sure! Can I run and hide again before more of those machines show up?" Powell looked more like he wanted to hide from Shepard though. She simply waved him off and turned her attention towards Holt as Powell ran off. He quickly made up a plan in his head. Since they were probably heading towards the beacon he might as well tag along and earn a few favors by helping them fight the geth.

"I'll ask again, who are you?" Before Holt could repeat his last answer, she continued. "And _someone_ is not a name." He looked into her eyes for a while, mind working overdrive to figure out what to answer. His real name should work fine since he's not wanted in any systems under his birth name. Shepard would probably see through any obvious lies he would try and pull.

"Nathan Holt." Was the answer he decided to go with. Her emerald eyes scanned him and his brown eyes stared right back.

"And what are you doing on Eden Prime?" Seems like his real name was accepted. Now for a question he could not be truthful about. Telling Alliance soldiers that he was on their planet to steal information about their latest discovery for the Shadow Broker would not end well.

"Visiting friends who..." He trailed off for added effect. "Who's not with me right now for a reason." Maybe a sob story would make her hesitate to ask any further questions. The other two seemed to believe him but Shepard's eyes were not that bright without reason. After a few more moments of her simply staring at him she closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"I'm guessing you know how to use those?" She asked as she motioned towards the sniper in his hands and his pistol on his hip.

"The geth I ran across didn't complain about how I used them." He started smirking without realising it. "Mostly because they never had the chance to." He swore he could see the Commander's lips curl up in a small smile as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Another geths' head exploded, this one far closer than Shepard would've liked. She threw an angry glance back towards the man they had picked up on the way. Her glare had no effect as he was occupied with sniping off the remaining geth. Holt followed orders well enough and had an amazing shot. That cloaking feature his armor had was no joke either. The problem was just that she didn't trust him. Visiting friends at the same time as The Alliance discover an ancient prothean beacon? She wasn't buying it at all but after learning about Saren, she needed all the help she could get. If it indeed had been the other turian spectre that killed Nihilus then it was obvious that he was working with the geth.

"For fuck sake, Holt!" Ashley suddenly called out, a geth falling to the ground not far from her. Shepard looked over to see the soldier looking furiously back towards their newest squad member.

"I got it under control, Williams!" He yelled back.

"That was inches away from my head!"

"Exactly, not even close!" Shepard could only shake her head. The sooner they were done here the better. A couple more geths got gunned down before it all calmed down and they finally reached the cargo train. She was about to ask where Holt had gone before he suddenly faded in next to them, nearly giving her a heart attack. There's no way some random person could get a hold of such advanced technology like that. They would have to run his name through the system afterwards. She went up to the controls of the cargo train to find that someone had tampered with them, she began to work on getting it functional again. They had been moving fast but not fast enough in Shepards' opinion. Saren must already be at the beacon.

"What do we do when we confront Saren, Commander?" Kaidan asked as Shepard finished getting the cargo train moving. She was about to tell him that she had no idea before everything started shaking. The giant ship that had been threatening them at a distance since they landed started to take off into the sky.

"Holy shit!" Ashley cried out. "How can a thing that big move that quickly?"

"It's like the krogan among spaceships." Holt said with a calmness in his voice but Shepard could see that he was equally amazed at the sight before them.

"I'm just happy to see it leave." And that was the truth. Even though she was curious to how the geth could've gotten hold of such a ship she didn't want to see it in action without a fleet at her back. The Normandy was a good ship but it had its limits. A ship at least five times its size was one of those limits. They watched as the ship left their view and Shepard suddenly realised they might be too late. If Saren was on the ship then he should have brought the beacon with him. Either that or he destroyed it before anyone else could get to it. "Let's hope he left the beacon behind.." The cargo train was approaching its destination and Shepard could see geth crawling around on the surrounding platforms. As the train stopped she turned to her squad mates. "This is gonna get messy." She said while making up a plan to deal with the geth. "I want Ashley to focus on suppressing them as much as possible from behind those boxes up ahead. Kaidan come with me to pick off dis... where's Holt?"

Gunfire erupted further ahead, Shepard could see that Holt had snuck off to take out a geth on top of a set of stairs with his pistol. "Holt, what the fuck are you doing!?" Ashley yelled at him as they sprinted to take cover behind boxes and containers. Most geth were focused on Holt who was a bit further ahead than them.

"Just wanted this position, Williams!" He yelled back as he switched out his pistol for his sniper. "Good cover while still giving me plenty of vision of the battlefield. No way was I gonna let the geth have it!" As shepard started firing at the geth that was trying to stop them she couldn't help but throw a glance towards the man who was shouting. She hated to admit it but his position was good. He would be able to give them plenty of sniper support from up there. She just wish he would tell her before he runs off like that.

"Is he trying to get to the beacon before us?" Kaidan loudly whispered to Shepard as he started using his biotics to keep them in control of the battle. "Are you sure bringing him with us is a good idea?" He whispered loud enough for Shepard to hear over the fighting but quietly enough for anyone else to be listening in.

"If he was then he would be off already." She answered as she threw a grenade at a cluster of geth trying to hide behind a container. The flying robotic body parts that followed the explosion sent waves of satisfaction throughout her body.

"Nice one, Shepard!" She heard Holt yell. Ashley kept firing at the geth, never giving them a chance of getting a good shot off. Kaidan lifted several geth that was picked off by Shepard and Holt. The battle was quickly over with none of the humans having as much as a scratch. As the fire died down and they was about to group up again, something caught Shepards' attention.

Is that what i think it is?" She said with an uneasy voice. Kaidan went up to it and his eyes widened.

"A timed bomb... Four minutes until detonation." Shepard quickly scanned the area and found out that there were three more of these not close by.

"Kaidan, disarm this one and then catch up with us! We'll go locate the remaining ones!" She ordered as she ran off in the direction the scan had told her the other ones should be.

They had taken out enough of these geth for them to only meet minimal resistance when finding the bombs. They weren't far apart from each other either, Saren must have wanted to blow this place sky-high. Soon they were all working on disarming one bomb each. "The blue wire, Williams! Cut the blue wire!"

"Shut up, Holt!" Ashley responded to which Holt simply laughed. Shepard finished disarming her bomb and went to help Ashley who had complained that she was no technical genius. Kaidan and Holt joined them just as they finished disarming the last bomb.

"All bombs defused?" She asked the group to which they nodded. They resumed walking towards the beacon and Shepard was surprised to meet no resistance at all. Had they finished off all the geth in the area already? She was expecting a lot more of them the closer to the beacon they got. 'Unless Saren took off with it.' She mentally reminded herself. She was about to give up on the thing when Kaidan spoke up.

"Is that it, over there?" He asked while pointing towards a object that clearly stood out from everything else around them. How had she missed that? Roughly eight meters all, it had a faint glow around it which told Shepard it was dangerous to approach. Kaidan must have felt the same way as he stood well clear of the thing. Ashley seemed more curious than anything and Holt simply looked at it with an unreadable expression. Didn't seem like he was going to steal it though so Shepard didn't think much more of it as she contacted Joker.

"Joker? We have located the beacon."

"You've located bacon? Was that your real mission down there, Commander?" His sarcastic voice said from the other end of the call. She simply shook her head and let out a loud sigh to let him know she was not in the mood at the moment.

"Just come pick us up." She said as she ended the call before he could say anything else.

"Imagine how old this thing must be..." Ashley said as she reached out for the beacon. The faint glow suddenly erupted and just by instinct Shepard took off in a sprint towards it. Ashley looked shocked at what was happening as she levitated up into the air, the glow intensifying. Shepard reached the soldier and pulled her out of the energy field that had formed around the beacon by now. Ashley was thrown out but now Shepard was stuck in it. Images suddenly started pouring into her, images of the giant ship they had seen earlier. Images of a turian and an asari inside that very ship. The turian turned towards her and every bone in her body suddenly felt a chill as he spoke up with a growling voice.

"She must be eliminated." Shepard was suddenly thrown back to where she had been moments earlier. She was on the ground, looking up into the sky above Eden Prime. Ashley and Kaidan was shouting at her, asking if she was ok. That's the last thing she registered before blackness surrounded her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The ship was amazing. Stylish, high-tech, clean and probably very expensive. "Mediocre coffee though..." Holt grumbled as he took another sip from the cup. He was onboard The Normandy, on its way to The Citadel. He had not expected to be here when he started this mission but The Shadow Broker would hopefully pay him a bit extra if he managed to get some info about this ship. That is, if he managed to be rid of the two guards that had been posted to watch his every move. "Do you get paid extra by staying quiet and looking menacing?" He asked the two men standing with their backs against nearby walls, neither of them having moved an inch for at least an hour. They had even followed him into the damn restroom earlier, Holt was not gonna be able to shake them off without raising the alarm. He couldn't even risk contacting anyone, with a ship this advanced they could probably intercept any message he sent out.

The prothean beacon was ruined, whatever it was that happened when Commander Shepard got knocked out seems to have overloaded the damn thing, rendering it useless. They had carried the woman back into the ship were she was quickly handed over to the medical staff. A man named Captain Anderson, another name he recognized from somewhere, had told him they would drop him off at The Citadel. Holt never had a chance to object before they were on their way. So here he was now, stuck in the mess hall with two Alliance soldiers taking their guard duty way too seriously. Hell, they would probably have thrown him in the cargo hold if Williams and Alenko had not told the Captain that Holt had helped them get to the beacon. He took the last sip of the coffee and was about to go back to rolling his thumbs when some faces he recognized left the med-bay. "You're not actually drinking the coffee they serve here?" Alenko asked as he and Williams approached his table.

"I've had some that was worse but I've had plenty that was better." Holt guessed from their relieved expressions that Shepard was okay in there in the med-bay. He felt a bit relieved as well. Shepard seemed like a good woman, her dying to some old piece of junk would've been a waste.

"Are you heading towards the Citadel with us?" Alenko asked as he sat down with him while Williams remained standing. Holt quickly glanced towards his two Wardens, they still stood there. Their eyes still staring him down, they need to learn how to relax a little. Holt had no intention of starting a fight.

"Didn't have much of a choice." He answered. "Your Captain is probably gonna bring me in for interrogation once we get there."

"I don't think Anderson would do that. It wasn't your fault the geth was there or that Shepard..." He trailed off, Williams started looking more uncomfortable as she excused herself and left the room. Alenko sighed as he started rubbing his forehead. "Ashley seems to be under the belief that it was her fault though."

"No one could've known that thing was gonna overload or whatever it was it did." Holt said while wondering why Alenko was rubbing his head so damn much.

"Yeah, that's what I've been trying to..." He trailed off for some other reason this time. "It's way too fucking bright in here... Sorry, used way too much biotics for my own good. Need to go and get some rest." He said as he stood up and left Holt alone in the mess hall once again. 'Maybe not completely alone...' He reminded himself as he took another look towards the two soldiers _still_ standing there simply staring at him.

"You two want some coffee? I swear that whole 'shit coffee tastes like shit'-talk earlier was just a joke." Didn't seem like they were buying it as they remained frozen at their places. Holt took a deep sigh as he began rolling his thumbs again. If he brought up his omni-tool to play some music or check the news they would see it as him trying to hack their ship or something. That would no doubt cause a fight and he did not like fighting in closed quarters while outnumbered.

It felt like hours passed before the med-bay doors opened again and Captain Anderson walked out. The older man simply looked at Holt as he went straight for the elevator. 'Not even a greeting.' Holt thought bitterly. I carried their fucking commander from that damn beacon to the ship since the biotic was too weak after the battles and the other soldier was mentally shaken and already carrying enough stuff on her back. A little bit of gratefulness and trust would be nice. Then again, he _was_ working for The Shadow Broker so they had made the correct call of not trusting him. "Still, a 'thank you' would be nice." He muttered as he was started rolling the empty cup around in his hands.

"You didn't drink the coffee, did you?" Shepard asked in a worried tone as she walked out of the med-bay. Holt looked at the woman approaching his table. No scars or burns, not even bags under her eyes. Why did they ever worry about her when, by the looks of it, all she had was a refreshing nap?

"Your subordinates asked the very same thing just minutes ago." He saw one of the statutes shift around a bit, making it easier for him to reach for a weapon if it would be needed. They didn't seriously believe that he would try anything on The Commander on her own ship? And why would he try anything now when he had a much better chance of killing her only hours earlier?

"Thank you." Shepard suddenly said, surprising Holt. "You helped us down there and later helped me get to the ship while I was unconscious. So... Thank you." Holt had not been expecting that. From all he had heard about the great Commander Shepard he was expecting some robot woman who acted as coldly as one. But the woman sitting down in front of him had just showed him such a human side of herself.

"Don't mention it, just throw in a good word for me so they don't throw me into a cell as soon as we get to The Citadel. We'll call it even after that." Shepards' eyebrows shot up.

"You're under arrest?" She asked as she eyed the two soldiers who were still standing around.

"Not officially but it's clear as day that your Captain doesn't trust me. Those two glued to the wall have been ordered to keep two pair of eyes on me at all times." Shepard looked a bit irritated as Holt explained it to her. She let out a sigh and turned towards the two soldiers.

"Dismissed, soldiers." They finally took their eyes off Holt for a second as they looked towards each other, uncertain on what to do.

"Sorry, ma'am, but the Capt-" One of the soldiers tried to object but Shepard simply cut him off.

"Let me correct myself then. You're being relieved of your post. I'll keep an eye on our guest." They still looked unsure on what to do for a while until Shepard brought her glare to another level. They quickly dispersed after that. Holt had managed to be surprised by her twice now within a minute. She had actually, in a way, defended him. "I'll speak with Anderson later. You didn't deserve to be treated like that after helping us down there."

"I've been treated worse." He said, waving it off. "And with this being The Normandy, I can understand his reluctance of letting a stranger roaming free on the ship."

"Not letting you roam? You've been stuck here in the mess hall since we left Eden Prime?"

"It's not been that bad. Was allowed to go to the toilets earlier, free coffee and then of course I had some great company." He said in a playful tone as he gestured to where the soldiers had left a few moments earlier. Shepard didn't seem pleased at hearing that he had been confined to the mess hall as he had been. She seemed to be deep in though as she looked straight into his eyes. Those damn eyes seemed to be able to look directly into his soul. It was unnerving yet thrilling to match it. Almost like being in the middle of a firefight that you wasn't sure if you would be able to survive. She suddenly stood up, making Holt the winner of the staring contest. He gave himself a mental high-five.

"Come with me, I'll show you around the ship." Holt wondered if he had heard that correctly. She was gonna show him around a ship that Shadow Broker would pay a hefty sum just to find out how many toilets there were on the ship. He was glad that he decided to help them out of Eden Prime, it had turned out to be a profitable decision. He wouldn't be able to give a full report about the beacon but everything that's happened with Saren and his time on The Normandy would hopefully make up for it. Holt stood up as well, feeling like shackles had been removed.

"By your orders, Commander." He said with a sarcastic tone and salute. Shepard simply responded with a bright smile as she started walking towards the elevator.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Where are you off to now then, Holt?" Kaidan asked as Shepard walked out of The Normandy together with the group consisting of herself, the Eden Prime ground team and Captain Anderson.

"Off to sell information about The Normandy to the highest bidder." Holt answered in a dead-panned voice. Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at the reaction from Anderson.

"While I appreciate what you did for us on Eden Prime, I hope you understand the importance of keeping what you've seen to yourself for now." The Captain said, clearly not amused by the joke considering how serious of a situation they were in right now. They were on their way to The Council to inform them that one of their precious Spectres was a traitor. And they were gonna make this accusation without any real proof. Ambassador Udina had not been pleased when they had contacted him to set up an audience with The Council.

"Of course, Captain. My lips are sealed when it comes to The Normandy." Holt said with that smirk never leaving his face. "And to give a serious answer to the Lieutenant, I'm off be the bearer of bad news to some people I know." Shepard guessed that he was gonna tell some people about his or their dead friends on Eden Prime. She'd had plenty of time to get to know the man as she had shown him around The Normandy. Anderson had, despite Shepards' objections, ordered a background check on the man and it had come back clean. No connections to any rebel or mercenary groups. His prowess with a rifle was because he was an instructor at a shooting range. Rich, although dead, parents had been the explanation to his high-tech armor. In other words, Anderson no longer had a reason to suspect the man of being some sort of agent of an enemy organisation. They reached the transit cars and Holt turned towards the rest of the group. "Guess this is where we say goodbye. Good luck in convincing The Council that the Spectre they're most proud of is a traitor to the whole galaxy." Shepard had told him about Saren and the vision she had as the beacon was destroyed. surprisingly, Holt had believed her immediately. Ashley and Kaidan said their goodbyes to the man as they followed Anderson to the car that would take them to the ambassadors office.

"Take care, Holt. Thanks again for all your help." Shepard said as she shook his hand as well. She was certain that Holt was a good man. Funny, easy to get along with and easy on the eyes as a bonus. Although quite reckless in fights he was a force to be reckoned with. Holt was looking at her with calculating, brown eyes as he stepped into the car.

"Stay safe, Shepard." He simply said as the door closed and he was off. Shepard watched the car disappear from sight and then she turned and followed the rest of the group.

"You think The Council will listen to us, Captain?" Ashley asked as they were all in the car.

"If they won't listen then we'll make them listen. This doesn't just concern humans, Saren is a threat to all species.

"Wonder why he's doing what he's doing though..." Kaidan said, looking like he had finally gotten rid of that migraine that had plagued him since Eden Prime.

"Insane people don't need a reason to do what they're doing." Shepard answered. She didn't care what Saren's motives or goals are, she's putting a stop to them. The rest of the ride was spent planning the next move if The Council would listen and what they would do if they didn't. it didn't take long until they reached the Presidium, the jewel of The Citadel. That's what the people who actually were allowed up here said at least. "How much time and credits do you think they pour into keeping this place as clean and shiny as it is?" She asked the group as they walked through the area filled with gardens and basking in the artificial sunlight.

"More than we would want to know would be my guess." Ashley answered with a laugh. For the first time in a while, Shepard felt oddly out of place as she was still in her combat armor. Everyone around them were wearing extravagant dresses or suits. Shepard remembered what Joker had once said when they were discussing the over-the-top uniforms the higher ups wore. 'It's important to look important when you're an important person in an important place.' She chuckled while imagining their pilot trying to fit in with the elite up here. They entered the ambassador building which was even more shiny and extravagant than everything else around here. They could hear shouting coming from the human ambassadors office long before they got to it.

"Seems like Udina is in his usual mood." Anderson said with a sigh as he opened the door for them. The shouting didn't stop even with four people entering the room as they saw a well-dressed man yelling at three holograms consisting of a turian, an asari and a salarian.

"I demand _action_!" Was all Shepard could make out when they walked in, everything said before that had been muffled through the door. She guessed that the three hologram figures were the members of the council.

"And we demand proof, ambassador." The turian said, looking like he clearly had better stuff to do than to listen to a _human_. Shepard had met several turians like him before and so far she had not seen eye to eye with any of them.

"But we got people who sa-" Udina continued to try and convince them but was cut off by the asari.

"Eye-witness report from a scared and traumatized warehouse worker is also not enough for us to take action against one of our most seasoned Spectres." Udina looked furious but Shepard had to agree that they had a point. They had no solid proof that Saren was the one behind the attack on Eden Prime.

"Then what about Shepards' vision?" Udina asked the holograms, the turian one gave out a loud sigh to show that his patience was at its end.

"We will grant you your audience but we want to see hard proof. If word goes against word then we'll side with our Spectre." The salarian said, bringing the discussion to an end. As the holograms faded off Udina turned around with a, not so subtle, furious look in his eyes.

"Humanity had never had a stronger presence in the galaxy than it did a few days back..." He said as he started walking towards the group. "But then you let Nihilus die and the beacon gets destroyed, ruining your chances for a Spectre position and lowering the human status in The Citadel!" Shepard thought this was one of the worst first impressions she's ever had of anyone.

"That was Sarens' fault, not hers!"

"Be that as it may, the Council will use this as an excuse to keep the humans away from a Council position for the next several decades!"

"With all due respect, Ambassador. Do we have a plan or are you going to stay here and complain to my face all day?" Shepard knew she was obliged to be respectful to this man but simply couldn't bring herself to it. Udina's face turned into an even deeper shade of red. He took a few deep breaths and succeeded in calming down.

"If they want solid proof about what Saren is doing we'll need help. One of my contacts has mentioned that there's a C-Sec officer looking into Saren. Seems like some of his actions raised suspicions even before Eden Prime."

"Give me a name and I'll be on my way." She said, knowing that the Ambassador was eager to be rid of her and she was of him.

"Harkin, if he's not on duty you'll find him down at Chora's Den in the Lower Markets. He's not the one who has been trying to dig up dirt on Saren but he can point you to whoever it is." That was all Shepard needed. She had a name and a destination and wasted no time offering a half-assed salute and turned to walk out. "I'll need you to come with me, Anderson. We have to prepare for the audience with the Council." Shepard could barely contain her laugh when she heard Andersons' unhappy groan. She was more than happy to let the Captain handle the politics while she went to a club.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Taking another sip of... whatever it was he was drinking, Holt took a look around the bar to see if anyone was trying to listen in on the conversation he was having with this krogan sitting opposite of him across the table. Seems like no one was paying them any attention and there were no bugs underneath the table. Sighing he put the glass down, wishing he had waited a bit longer before contacting The Shadow Broker, he had earned a bit of vacation after Eden Prime. Instead he had been given the task to get this krogan his target, a target who had crossed The Shadow Broker.

"So you understand the deal? Go in, shoot the guy dead and then get out. If you get caught by any authorities we will help you as long as you don't-"

"Just give me a name and I'll get it done." The krogan calmly interrupted him. Holt didn't complain, the sooner this Wrex guy was off to deal with this Fist guy the sooner Holt would be to his vacation.

"Fist, a krogan that you'll have to ask around for in Chora's Den." With that, Wrex quickly got up and walked towards the exit. "Nice talking to you too..." Holt sighed while motioning for the waitress for another drink. He had been here at the Flux more than enough times for them to know what he wanted without having to say the words. A familiar pair of eyes met his as he looked towards the bar. "You gotta be shitting me..." He muttered as he realised what was about to happen. The asari who owned the eyes started walking towards him with a seductive swing on her hips and her lips in a large smirk. She nimbly sat down next to him on the couch, leaning into him.

"How unexpected seeing such a handsome man sitting here, all alone." She said while playfully stroking his chest with a lone finger.

"For the moment. I'm looking to fill the void next to me." He answered with a monotone voice. Did they really have to go through with this every single time?

"Oh? And just who might be suited to fill that void?" She said while still looking straight into his eyes.

"An asari that masks business with pleasure." He said to which she softly giggled. She took her hand off his chest and leaned back into the couch.

"Good to see that's still you wearing your face, Holt."

"No one wears it as good as me, Tela." Tela Vasir, Spectre and Shadow Broker agent. Her approaching him would probably mean more work, _joy_.

"The boss found your last mission report... unfilling."

"He's gonna have to be more specific in what's missing. Is it Saren he still have questions about?"

"He's suspected Saren to be up to something for quite some time now, his betrayal comes as no surprise." She said as the waitress came with Holt's drink. The conversation died down while there were another pair of ears nearby. "It's your little trip on The Normandy he's interested about." And that was the subject Holt was hoping to avoid.

"I can only tell you what I've already told him. All I was allowed to see on that ship was the mess hall and the restroom for about two minutes."

"There's nothing else worth mentioning?"

"The coffee tasted like shit." She simply looked at him with an unpleased face. This woman could really go from easy-going to an ice-cold bitch in a matter of seconds. He met her gaze for a few moments before she gave off a sigh.

"Fine, I guess The Shadow Broker will have to be happy with that. Such a shame though, he's really interested in that ship." Looks like she bought it as well. After how Shepard had treated him he decided to keep some of the things he had managed to learn about The Normandy to himself for now. The Shadow Broker would probably find out sooner or later anyway but for now he would be kept in the dark.

"Yeah, such a shame." Hopefully she would leave him to his free time now.

"Anyway, we got another mission to take care off right now." Of course they had.

"And what is that?" He said while taking a deep chug of his drink, not bothering to check if it was the wrong one of if it was poisoned. Taste wasn't important as long as it got him drunk and if he got poisoned he could maybe take a sick leave.

"Something is up on Edolus."

"And where is that?" Turned out they had gotten the drink right. The taste was more bitter than he had hoped now that his precious vacation had been snatched away from him.

"Sparta System."

"And why is that place of interest to The Shadow Broker?"

"Distress call and a missing Alliance recon team."

"Again, why is that of any interest to anyone other than the Alliance?"

"The Shadow Broker has his reasons." She stood up and looked down at him. "You do realise that it doesn't matter what he's asking of us, we'll do it no matter how unimportant we deem it to be?" Holt hated to admit it but she was right.

"Fine fine..." He sighed as he too stood up. "But if he asks me to do anything involving animals or me getting naked in a public place, I'm drawing the line." She actually giggled a bit at that which meant that she had switched over to her care-free side just now. 'Good, wouldn't be able to handle the other side of her for more than five minutes.' Holt thought. "Transport taken cared of?" He asked as they walked out of the bar.

"Of course, unlike some I'm prepared for everything all the time instead of nothing most of the time."

"I managed to get to Eden Prime, didn't I?"

"By hitchhiking."

"Not everyone is a Spectre with unlimited credits."

"Anyway, speaking of Eden Prime." She quickly changed the subject. "You met the famous Commander Shepard, how was that?" That just showed how big of a figure she was in the galaxy already, even Spectres knew about her.

"She was nice enough I guess."

"That's more praise than you've ever given me."

"She didn't drag me away from my hard earned vacation to go to some distant planet just to find an Alliance recon team that accidentally pressed the 'send help'-button."

"This is just what we do. The Shadow Broker needs eyes and ears around the galaxy and that's what we are."

"Wish he could get some more eyes and ears so I'm allowed to blink every once in a while..." Holt muttered as they stepped into the sky car that would take them to their ship.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The alarm clock went off in the Captain's quarters on the Normandy. Shepard blindly searched with her hand to shut the damned thing off as her vision was blocked off by her ruffled hair and the pillow. The soft, slightly chilled and amazing pillow. Her hand managed to hit something and the beeping stopped, she had triumphed over the blasted alarm clock. That should earn her another few minutes in this comfortable bed, right? She had slept in those damned pods for longer than she could remember. This was the first time in quite a while she had slept in a real bed. Slowly her eyes opened and darted around the room she was in. Panic struck her for a split second at the unfamiliar surroundings but then she remembered what happened yesterday. She had gone from 'Commander Shepard' to 'Captain Commander Spectre Shepard' in the span of just a few hours. Normandy was hers and Saren was her target. Those thoughts made her give up the sanctuary that was her bed and slowly sat up on the bed.

"Joker, how long till we reach Edolus?" She said when she was sure her voice was free of any hint that she'd been asleep. It would be very unfitting if the Captain of a ship showed their humanity.

"ETA: 45 minutes Comma-... Captain?... Spectre?"

"Stick with Commander, Joker. Saves you the trouble of having to think on how to address me."

"Thank you, Shep-... Commander." He said before shutting down the comm link. With a deep sigh she got up from the impossibly comfortable bed and made her way over to the bathroom. Her _personal_ bathroom, she reminded herself. She stepped into the shower and made a personal debrief of what had happened in the last few days. First the whole Eden Prime business and then trying to convince The Council that Saren was siding with the enemy. With Garrus' help they managed to find Wrex who, by The Shadow Broker's orders, were after another krogan named Fist. Fist had betrayed The Shadow Broker in favor of Saren and was after a quarian named Tali who had the evidence against the rogue Spectre that they needed. A couple of firefights later and they were in front of The Council once again, this time with hard evidence that they couldn't ignore. They made Shepard a Spectre and ordered her to deal with Saren. Former Captain Anderson made her the Captain of the Normandy that she could use in her hunt for the former Spectre.

"I hope I'll never experience such a hectic day ever again." She muttered as she let the water rinse her body of any fatigue or stress she still had from yesterday. Since they didn't have any leads on Saren at the moment, all they could do was keep handling Alliance business until they had something to go on. As she stood there her mind drifted back into the events that had taken place during these last few days. She had been standing there, lost in thought, for quite some time as Joker's voice over the comm brought her back to the present with a jolt.

"15 minutes left, Commander. Who are you bringing with you down to the surface?" Startled she turned off the shower and draped a towel around her and hurried out of the bathroom.

"Wrex and Williams. I promised Wrex that he would see some action and another Alliance soldier never hurts." She answered as she started throwing on her outfit, cursing herself for being so slow this morning. 'Wait, if we've reached the planet...' She thought to herself as she looked towards the alarm clock. The alarm had gone off four hours ago, she had somehow drifted back to sleep and slept for another few hours. First day as the Captain of the ship and she had overslept by quite a margin.

"Roger that Commander." She could faintly hear Joker said under the sound of her running back and forth across the room, trying to fix herself up before heading down and finding her two squadmates that were coming with her to Edolus in less than an half hour. It took her less than two minutes before she was out of the room, walking with a speed that rivaled running towards the elevator. Her first destination would be the mess hall, hoping that Ashley would be there and not hiding anywhere else on the ship. Shepard was pretty certain Wrex would be down in the cargo hold so he could be picked up as they were leaving the ship. She was met with a spitting sound and a disgusted sound as soon as she entered the mess hall.

"You humans actually drink this?" Garrus asked Ashley and Kaidan. The three of them were sitting eating breakfa-... lunch, Shepard reminded herself. Glancing into his cup she could see the dark liquid that had been the target of many complaints lately. Holt entered her mind before Kaidan noticed Shepard joining them.

"Commander, we didn't see you during breakfast." He said as he quickly got up and threw a salute. Thankfully Ashley and Garrus didn't bother, if everyone acted that way Shepard was probably gonna make it a rule to not do it.

"Burried in paperwork, needed to finish it before we arrived at Edolus." She lied. There was no way she was gonna admit she had overslept. She turned towards Williams. "Speaking of which, you're joining me down there." Ashley didn't waste time and quickly finished her food and stood up, ready and eager to follow. Shepard said her goodbyes to Garrus and Kaidan and headed for the elevator.

"I'm guessing we're gonna move as a team of three, who else are we bringing?" Ashley asked as the elevator started moving. 'Moving really slowly...' Shepard mumbled mentally.

"Wrex."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? That's an Alliance distress call."

"Does it matter who responds to it?" Shepard glanced towards the other soldier. Shepard wasn't slow by any means, she had quickly figured out that Ashley didn't care very much for other species. She wasn't very vocal about it but she could easily tell that was the case.

"No Commander, it doesn't." She responded as the conversation quickly stopped. 'Give it some time and she'll see them in a different light.' Shepard thought to herself. The elevator opened and they stepped out in the cargo hold. Wrex was quickly located standing next to the mako.

"Shepard."

"Wrex."

"Tell me we're heading to the planet soon. I'm sick and tired of standing around doing nothing."

"We're heading to the planet soon." She said as she went to her locker, gathering her gear.

"Good." The krogan simply grunted as he folded his arms and leaned towards the vehicle. Shepard liked Wrex, he was so easy to deal with. Give him a target and he's happy. Joker's voice came out of the speakers only a few minutes later, letting them know they had arrived. 'Let's hope Edolus won't be as eventful as Eden Prime.' Shepard thought as she climbed into the mako.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_A/N - Bit slow on the updates and this one will be quite short, sorry. Been quite busy but will hopefully be able to update more often in the coming weeks, can't make any promises though with how unpredictable life is. Thank you for reading and please review, criticism in every form is welcomed. _

* * *

"_Go to Edolus_,he said." Holt whispered in a low and bitter voice, giving him a sense of deja vu. He could sense the asari next to him roll her eyes.

"You can't expect to find an ancient artifact on all your missions, Holt." Tela Vasir told him as they were on a hill overlooking the reason of them being on this dull planet to begin with. Down the hill they could see a couple of destroyed vehicles together with corpses littered all over the place.

"So it's quite clear that it was a thresher maw that was behind this, something I bet The Shadow Broker already knew." Holt grumbled as he quickly made sure he had brought his rocket launcher with him. "What exactly is it that he expects us to find here that's of value to him?"

"The answer to who set this up." She immediately answered. "Something must've lured this recon team down here to begin with. There's no way a recon team died like this." Studying the carnage down in the valley, Holt could see that she was correct.

"So someone is getting a kick out of luring unsuspecting passerby's into a thresher maw trap?"

"Pretty much, the question is _who _and _why_."

"A group that obviously has something to gain from lowering the Alliance's numbers."

"Doesn't really narrow it down. Every other species has something to gain by making you humans weaker in the galaxy."

"Gee, thanks."

"Don't have anything against your kind personally, just telling you how it is." Tela chuckled as her eyes was still fixed on the corpses in the distance. Holt wondered how they were gonna find out who it was that had set this up. With a thresher maw roaming around they couldn't just go in there and start looking for evidence. This rocket launcher packed a punch but would do little more than scratch a being such as a thresher maw. "Something is approaching in the distance." Tela suddenly said. Following the direction her binoculars were facing, Holt could see a vehicle of some sort heading straight for the scene they had been watching for a good few hours. "Seems to be an alliance vehicle."

"More lambs for the slaughter then." Holt sighed, earning him a questioning glance from the asari next to him. "Lambs are animals that we humans use for food among other things."

"Ah, like a _tevura_ then?"

"... I guess?" Holt answered as he brought out his own set of binoculars to get a better look at who was approaching. It looked like any other mako and he guessed that the Alliance had sent out a small team to deal with the problem of another small team ending up dead. Good decision making there. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline as he saw something that jolted his memory. He had seen this particular mako before. "You're shitting me."

"What?" Tela asked as she was desperately trying to figure out what had surprised him so.

"That mako is normally found in the cargo hold of the Normandy." He said as he watched the mako stop a few hundred meters away from the dead Alliance bodies. The asari let out a small laugh.

"Seems like your girlfriend missed you." She said as she dropped her binoculars and brought up her omni-tool. "I'll contact The Shadow Broker to ask how he wants us to handle this. Keep an eye on them." Holt did just that. The mako remained still as the people inside were probably trying to figure out how to deal with the situation. They were also probably oblivious to Holt and Tela's presence on the planet. Their ship was real stealthy and the terrain made it easy to hide from sight. The next few minutes was spent watching the immobile vehicle while listening to Tela's end of her conversation. The ground suddenly started shaking violently and Holt immediately knew what that meant.

"Wild guess but I bet it was the mako that caught the thresher maw's attention." He mumbled as Tela was still calmly talking to their boss. The people in the mako also must have felt something was off as they started moving just before the giant head of the thresher maw burst out of the ground just next to them. The gun on the mako instantly started firing at it as it started circling around the giant beast, avoiding the acid sprays. Holt impatiently tapped the rocket launcher with his fingers. He had the tools to help them against the creature, the question was if he was allowed. As if on cue, Tela shut down her omni-tool and turned her attention to the fight down below.

"Observe for now."

"What, observe their deaths?" He responded with great anger in his voice, greater than he had expected. Watching the mako struggle to keep moving out of harms way on this rocky terrain and trying to avoid the acid that was raining down around it. Their weapons was simply not enough to put more than a dent on the rocky scales of the enemy.

"Finding out who put this trap here takes priority over the lives of the people in that vehicle."

"Even if one of those persons might be the first ever human Spectre?"

"A human Spectre that serves no purpose to us, yes." Holt clenched the rocket launcher closer.

"Think about it for a second. I've already done these guys one favor back on Eden Prime. Saving their lives now would make them indebted to me." That caught Tela's attention. "And having another Spectre being indebted to us would be quite handy, wouldn't it?" The asari didn't need much time to think it over.

"Fine, but this is on your ass if shit hits the fan." She said as she brought up her omni-tool again. Holt was already taking aim with the rocket launcher, sights set on the ugly face of the thresher maw.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The chilling shriek that came from the thresher maw sent shivers down Shepard's spine. Shivers from fear but also excitement knowing that they had actually managed to injure it. Something heavy had exploded right in its face and its rocky scales were falling apart, giving them a clear view of its softer and weaker skin beneath the armor.

"Nice shot, Ashley! Finish it off!" Shepard shouted back as she kept the mako moving. She was not gonna get cocky give the thresher maw a chance on covering them with that acid.

"That wasn't our rocket, Shepard!"

"What?" She spat out. They were all alone on this planet, not counting the corpses of the Alliance soldiers. But she very much doubted they could fire a weapon of any kind in their state.

"Someone is stealing our kill?" Wrex growled from his position by the door. He had opened it mid-fight and started firing at the beast, Shepard had stopped trying to make him get back in his seat after he showed no sign of obeying her orders.

"As long as it gets killed I don't care!" She shouted back. Another explosion could be heard followed by another shriek. The sound of the machine gun had rung in her ears almost non-stop for a good few minutes now. 'How much punishment could this fucking thing take?' Shepard thought angrily as she dodged a pool of acid.

"I saw where that rocket came from." Wrex calmly said as he kept shooting at the exposed part of the thresher maw's face. "Someone is up on the cliff to the east."

"Joker! Can you scan the area around our position and see if there's any ship nearby?" Shepard asked the pilot through the comm and it only took a few seconds before she got a response.

"Scanners don't pick up any ship but we have a very, very faint trace of comm traffic nearby from where you are. It's impossible to pin-point exactly where it's coming from and what's being transmitted thanks to the Alliance distress call that's still up."

"Thresher maw going down, Shepard!" Ashley called out to which Shepard looked out the window and saw the giant letting out one last howl before slamming into the ground, giving off a small earthquake that made the mako very difficult to handle. Thought she very much prefered a bumpy ride over acid rain.

"We still got the kill on that." Wrex decided as he still hung out from the door. Not as dangerous now that they were slowing down but still, couldn't he just go back to his seat?

"Let's go see who we have to thank for helping us." She said as she started turning the mako towards the unknown third party.

"No need, Shepard. The person is coming to us." Ashley said as she obviously had better vision than Shepard did. "Doesn't seem like the person is hostile."

"Those rockets would've been aimed at us if he or she was." Wrex grunted. Shepard drove up to the transmitter and told Ashley to change the distress signal to a warning one instead. This planet probably had more thresher maws roaming about. She told Wrex to follow her and went to meet this unknown enemy of the thresher maws.

"Trying to steal our prey, human?" Wrex bluntly asked, proving once again that krogans dont make the best diplomats. He was correct about the human part though. The body obviously belonged to a human underneath all that armor which looked annoyingly familiar, the face was hidden behind the dark-tinted visor on the helmet though.

"Didn't see your name on it and besides." Hold on... "I let you get the last hit so why are you complaining?" Even with that slightly inhuman voice you get from speaking through the communication device in helmets she could still recognize it.

"Holt?"

"Hmpf! We had it under control." Damn it Wrex, not now!

"You say while emptying your boots of acid." Holt started mocking Wrex, to which the krogan responded by taking a threatening step towards the man. Holt simply ignored him and turned towards Shepard. He pressed a button on the side of the helmet and the dark-tint was gone. "And hello again, Commander Shepard. Or is it Spectre Shepard now?" Wrex seemed to... react upon seeing Holt's face.

"First off, how do you know they made me a Spectre. Secondly, what are you doing here?"

"It's been on every news channel across the galaxy the last 24 hours. It's been impossible to _not_ hear about it." Impossible to miss unless you've been asleep for the most part of the day. Shepard mentally reminded herself to not let that happen again.

"Are what are you doing here on Edolus? I very much doubt it's coincidence." She said while motioning for Wrex to go help Ashley fix the signal. She wasn't gonna risk facing another one of those monsters by staying here longer than needed.

"Was paid to go find out what had happened here."

"By who?"

"Don't know, lots of middle hands involved." Shepard was feeling uneasy and mad at herself. She had trusted Holt back on Eden Prime, had she made a mistake in doing so?

"And Eden Prime?"

"Same thing there. Was paid to find out what was happening, information is very valuable."

"I'm gonna be honest since one of us has to. We made a background check on you back on the Normandy and it came back clean. Was that a fake person we found?"

"You tell me, what did it say?"

"Shooting instructor, dead parents, Nathan Holt as a name."

"Well... I do a lot of shooting but I don't charge for it." He jokingly said and Shepard found it difficult to stay mad at this person. "Don't know if my father had bit the dust or not since I've never met the guy. And mother... who knows if that woman is still alive or not." And now there was no light-hearted tone at all. "Nathan Holt is my real name though you won't find my _real_ profile no matter how hard you look in your systems." Shepard simply looked at him. Trying to decide if she should trust him again or not.

"Why are you telling me all this now and not earlier?"

"Was paid to be very hush-hush last mission, not so much this time."

"Alright, but _why_ are you telling me all this?"

"I was actually gonna try and find you once this mission was over." He said as his voice took on a serious tone. His brown eyes also darkened as they intensified and Shepard found it difficult to meet them with her own. "Seeing what Saren did on Eden Prime and after hearing that the council had gone as far as declare him a criminal, I'm guessing the situation is pretty serious." Shepard heard Joker trying to contact her but decided to ignore it. "I've declined any upcoming jobs in hope that I'm allowed to join you in your mission of taking down Saren."

"How do you know about us hunting Saren?"

"Seriously Shepard, have you been living under a rock the last day or so?" Not a rock but maybe a blanket. "Every news station is broadcasting this story." Shepard let out a deep sigh, completely at a lost on what to do.

"Did you give out any information about the Normandy?" If he had she was gonna kill him, her trust in him would've been greatly misplaced if he had.

"No, I simply didn't see a point in doing it." Came his immediate response.

"And you getting on the Normandy isn't just another job for you?"

"No." They once again began a staring contest which Shepard felt she was winning until Joker started trying to contact her again.

"What is it Joker?" She muttered as she took a look back towards the other two squad mates who were still working on changing the signal.

"Should I be worried that we're getting a big warning-signal from where you guys are?"

"No, that means we're done here. Prepare a comm link with the Alliance brass and come pick us up. The Alliance will have to come with a larger force to investigate who were behind this and recover the bodies."

"Aye aye, Commander." She turned back towards Holt, deciding to go with her gut feeling once again.

"Welcome to the team, Holt. Please don't make me regret this decision." Holt flashed her a bright smile upon hearing her decision.

"You won't be disappointed, Shepard."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Quickly checking his surroundings one last time, Holt made sure no ears were listening in. Quickly scanning the area one last time, Holt made sure there were hidden bugs around. He was down in the cargo area of the Normandy trying to establish a secure connection to the outside world. Some of the cadets were close enough to see him but outside hearing range. Feeling confident enough in his preparations his fingers started working away on his omni-tool. It only took a second before the person on the other end of the call picked up.

"Holt, darling! It's been ages!" Making one last check with his omni-tool, he couldn't see anyone listening in.

"The connection is secure, Tela. No need pretending to be nice."

"Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine? What brought you into such a foul mood?"

"The mood on this ship rubbed off on me." Which was true, him returning to The Normandy had not gone as planned. As Tela went silent he figured she wanted him to continue. "Once we were back on The Normandy and in the briefing room, Shepard thought it to be a good idea to mention that I was working for a information broker."

"I hope you didn't-"

"Don't worry, I only said enough to imply that I was working for _a_ information broker. Don't forget that it was you who taught me that the best lies is the ones not far from the truth."

"... Right..." She didn't sound convinced. "And exactly how did their team react?"

"The Alliance people demanded that I was to be violently escorted out of the ship in the middle of space. A turian wanted to arrest me and actually tried until Shepard stopped him. A krogan, who I met a couple of days ago in the Citadel funnily enough, didn't seem to care. And then there was a quarian who I really couldn't tell what she was thinking."

"What kind of team is Shepard putting together?" Tela said after letting out a drawn-out sigh. "So, other than their hatred for your profession, what else did you learn from the debrief about Edolus?"

"I'll come back to you about that later when they actually know what happened there themselves."

"Fair enough. What else have you learned about The Normandy since you got on there earlier today?"

"It can fly through space." Another sigh could be heard. Holt knew he was getting on her nerves but he was protected by the ship, she couldn't touch him.

"Have they put you under surveillance again?"

"Not officially but it seems like news spread quickly around here. I can't take two steps without having ten pair of eyes on me."

"So you getting on that ship was a waste of time?"

"Too early to tell, give me some time and I'll earn their trust."

"... Fine, but you'll have to give me something to present to the boss sooner rather than later. He was, and still is, sceptical to you infiltrating The Normandy." Something big and bulky was suddenly making its way over to Holt. Unless one of the other crew members had swollen up to twice their size it could only mean one thing.

"I know you miss me but we'll meet again soon enough." Wrex was now standing next to him, waiting for him to finish his conversation. "I promise I'll come visit you the next chance I get so please stop crying." He ignored the angry mumbling of Tela and continued. "Yes, yes. I promise. Love ya babe, bye!" And with that he quickly turned off the omni-tool before facing Wrex with a well practised poker face. "Stop nagging me about it, I wasn't trying to steal your kill."

"That is not why I came over here, Holt." The krogan sounded serious. Holt knew that Wrex knew about his connection to The Shadow Broker but was hoping that he wasn't loyal enough to Shepard to rat out on him. Maybe he would have to deal with this problem as soon as possible.

"Oh? So we're actually gonna have a proper conversation?"

"Sort of... What's your real reason for being here?" He said while folding his arms across his chest. Krogans doing that always looked funny to Holt with how tiny their arms were compared to the rest of their bodies. He focused on not laughing in the krogans face. Weaponless and backed into a corner, angering a krogan would be a bad idea.

"As I said during the debrief, stopping Sar-"

"That might be one of the reasons but not the only one. Did the Shadow Broker send you?" Damn damn damn damn damn.

"The Shadow Broker isn't my only employer and right now I'm not being paid to secure any kind of information for anyone." Come on poker face, work your magic.

"I don't care if you're being hired or not. I just want to know if you'll be denying me the battles that Shepard promised to bring to me." Oh, was that it?

"Of course I won't. What would I hope to gain by keeping Shepard away from her mission?"

"You could be working for Saren."

"Do I look like a geth to you?"

"Shepard mentioned some asari working with Saren if you're to trust her vision. Asaris' aren't geth either."

"Well, Saren isn't paying me." Wrex simply let out a low grunt and went back to his corner in the cargo bay. Didn't seem like he would be any problem as long as Holt didn't steal any of his kills. There were far less people in here than it had been when he contacted Tela, must mean that most of them went to sleep. Thinking about doing the same he decided that winning the hearts and minds of the crew members took priority. With a light-hearted whistle, which earned him a few questioning looks from the skeleton crew, he headed towards the elevator. Getting on good terms with the pilot seemed like a good idea.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Jane Shepard woke up to the infernal alarm beeping away in the spacious room. This time she mustered enough willpower to ignore the warm sheets and soft pillows, not wanting to oversleep by several hours again. She did some light stretches to help mend her body after what happened on Edolus. The exercise was followed by a quick trip to the showers and her morning routine was completed faster than she'd expected. She was a loss on what to do next now though. Late last night she had been contacted by The Council with news about who the asari working with Saren could be. Apparently it was believed that a matriarch named Benezia and they were stuck waiting on The Council to give them a destination that might lead them to her.

"Joker, has The Council contacted us yet about Benezia's whereabouts?" She asked as she made her way out of her quarters, fully dressed and ready for whatever the day might throw at her.

"Nope." And the day didn't seem to throw anything at her. She lightly coughed to give him the hint to keep some appearance of professionalism. "Nope, Commander." She touched the pad to call for the elevator and decided to keep talking with the pilot.

"Anything else to report that I should know about?"

"Uhm... Williams are giving the alien crew members some funny looks." Shepard sighed as the elevator arrived and she went into it. She would have to have a talk with Ashley sooner rather than later. "Also, Holt is a nice guy. Who would've thought?" Wait, what?

"You've spoken with him?"

"He came by last night and kept me company. Nice to see that _someone_ appreciate what I do around here."

"You didn't give out any classified information I hope?" Shepard had been very conflicted about bringing Holt on board. On one hand he had saved them twice already and was quite good on the field. On the other, much bigger hand, he was working for an information broker. Even though if he was saying that was doing no such thing at the moment she still had a bad feeling. She had listened to her gut more than her brain and this time the two parts were in a deep conflict. Gut feeling still told her to trust him but her mind was sending major warning signals.

"He didn't even ask about the ship. He was asking about where I'm from and how I ended up on The Normandy."

"You're not worried he's trying to dig up something about you?" The pilot simply laughed.

"And what would he find that isn't already public? The impression I got from him does not match the rumors that had been going around about him yesterday, Commander." She had not expected Joker to open up to Holt, at least not this quickly. "Oh, hold on Commander..." He suddenly said, clearly distracted with something. "Speak of the devils, The Council has a message for you. It's on your terminal." Good, maybe they had a destination then.

"Thank you Joker." She said as the elevator reached its destination and she went straight for her terminal. Quickly opening the message and reading it she couldn't help but feel disappointed that they weren't going after Benezia at all. The matriarch had a daughter that should be on a planet called Therum, working on something involving the protheans. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone in meeting up with this asari named Liara. Maybe she would be able to make some sense of this vision that Shepard got from Eden Prime. All this is assuming that Liara isn't working with her mother.

"Maybe you could kill two birds with one stone if we were to find this Liara?" A voice suddenly asked right next to Shepard's ear, causing her to give out a tiny yelp and throw her head around to the source of the voice. Holt was standing right next to her nonchalantly reading the message that The Council had sent her.

"Damn it Holt, you almost gave me a heart attack." She said as she took some deep breaths to calm herself. The man didn't seem to notice or care that he was intruding on her personal space.

"_Almost_? Damn, would've been the perfect crime." He said jokingly as he took a step back, maybe somehow noticing her discomfort.

"Was there anything you wanted?" She said while noticing the amount of glares they were receiving from the surrounding crew members. The amount of glares Holt was receiving, she corrected herself.

"Was just gonna ask where we were going next, but I already got that question answered."

"I always go through the missions with the ground team before-hand. You could've been patient."

"Just don't like being kept in the dark." He said while shrugging. "Sorry, I'll behave in the future."

"I'll tell the rest of the ground team to meet up in the comm room. You head there now." She said as she turned back towards her terminal. Making a last check to see if anything else of importance was to be found.

"Aye aye, Commander." She heard Holt said in a sarcastic voice and she could feel him making a mock salute as well. She wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction of reacting. As his footsteps walking away could be heard she silently cursed her gut feeling for allowing him on this ship. Holt was stealthy enough on the battlefield so Shepard would now have to watch herself on her own ship as well. She shook her head to clear her mind of Holt for the moment as she pressed the pad that would broadcast her voice to the rest of the ship.

"All members of the ground team are to meet up in the comm room." Even though they were probably at least one day away from Therum, going through a few things with the team that are gonna work together for the near future would be necessary. "Joker, I'm guessing you've been listening in and already read the message as well?"

"Aye aye, Commander." The pilot said in a voice that imitated Holts' as much as possible. "We'll be there by tomorrow late afternoon."

"Make it early afternoon." Shepard said as she started making her way towards the comm room. She was pleased to see the whole ground team already waiting in the comm room as she got there. But she was not pleased to see that there was several obvious rifts among the ground team. Kaidan and Ashley were standing at attention, being the Alliance soldiers that they were. Garrus and Tali were whispering something to each other and them being other species it was difficult for Shepard to make out exactly what was being said. Holt and Wrex was oddly enough grouping up and having some lively discussion about thresher maws. Shepard didn't hear anything involving stealing kills so at least that argument was behind them.

"Commander, do we have a destination?" Kaidan asked as he and Ashley saluted her.

"We do." She simply said before she turned towards the whole room. "The asari in the vision turned out to be a asari matriarch named Benezia."

"So we go pound some matriarch ass?" Wrex said as he fist bumped himself. His comment made Holt start giggling like an idiot.

"We only have her name, not her location. We got her daughter's location though. An asari doctor by the name Liara. She's on a planet called Therum."

"What's she doing on this planet?" Tali asked.

"Something involving the protheans. Her work there is quite classified."

"Is her daughter working with Saren as well?" Garrus asked.

"We don't know." Not the answer the team was hoping to hear, Shepard noticed.

"And we're certain we're not walking into a trap?" Holt asked.

"You sound scared, Holt." Wrex taunted.

"Just need to know how much firepower to bring."

"What makes you think you'll be part of the team that goes down there to begin with?" Kaidan asked with a hint of anger in his voice. Shepard could see this going out of hand but decided to let them vent some of their issues before she intervened.

"I thought you would jump on any chance of getting me off this ship, even if it's only for a few hours, Lieutenant." Holt added that last word with a tone that was meant to get any sort of response out of Kaidan.

"If it were up to me you would be off this ship permanently." And it seems to have worked. Things had gotten out of control fast and she needed to put a stop to it.

"I'll decide who comes with me anyway so shut up, both of you." She said in her most commanding voice which silenced the two bickering fools. Her gut told her of a plan that she wasn't willing to follow. Her mind was throwing objections left and right but decided to take another chance involving Holt. "Kaidan and Holt, you both will be coming with me to find Liara." Objections were quickly being voiced from the two Alliance soldiers. Garrus and Tali didn't seem to care all that much. Wrex was mumbling something about being left out of all the fun and Holt simply smirked as he saw Kaidan's reaction. Damn her gut and its power over her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_This 'one chapter per day' isn't gonna last since work starts again next week. So let's just enjoy it while it lasts I guess._

* * *

"You're that undercover agent that everyone's been talking about lately, aren't ya?" Holt was considering simply ignoring the man but then there was a possibility that he would poison his food. Or even worse, spit in it.

"That would be me, yeah." He answered with a smile, hoping this wouldn't turn into a interrogation so he could quickly get his tray of food. He was starving here.

"Where's your suit and everything?" And now this man was simply not making any sense.

"Sorry?"

"You know, all them fancy suits and fancy cars." He said while motioning with his hands what he believed represented a car. "All those gadgets of yours as well." Maybe food could wait until whatever drug this man was taking started wearing off.

"You've been watching those old spy movies again?" Shepard's voice suddenly asked next to him. Holt had to commend her on being able to sneak up on him. Though to be fair he was busy dealing with a mad man. The chef quickly handed her a tray full of food, bastard.

"I've been watching the good ones, more like. These new 'spy' movies are all the same! Some handsome turian saves his asari girlfriend from an evil batarian. explosions and techno music all over the place and none of the-" He stopped ranting as he noticed that Shepard had already left, leaving Holt alone with the crazy man once again. "You know the good old ones I'm talking about, right? Bond, Bourne and all the other classics?" Holt suddenly got a great idea even though he had no idea what the man was talking about.

"Yeah of course! That scene with that car chase is probably my favourite!" The man seemed to lighten up while hearing that.

"I know exactly which scene you're talking about! The fighting that takes place ju-"

"I would love to stay here and discuss those movies with you but I'm starving. Any chance I could get my food now and we could continue this some other day?" Holt asked while putting on his most friendly smile. Seems like the other man was buying it.

"Yes of course, my apologies. Not often you meet someone with the same love for the older movies." He said while handing a filled tray over to Holt. As he walked off to find a table he could hear the chef say after him. "You're alright, man. Doesn't matter what the others say." Well, that heart and mind was easy to win over. Holt scanned the mess hall for his next target to befriend. Joker had proven to be a nice enough guy, easy to get along with and great humor. His relationship with Wrex wasn't gonna get better, or worse as long as he stayed out of the krogan's way. The two Alliance soldiers on the ground team would take some work before they put their trust in him so that only left the remaining aliens in the group. Garrus and Tali was conveniently enough sitting at the same table, seemingly enjoying the silence between them in the otherwise busy and loud mess hall. He made his way over there and ignored the glares and looks from the other crew members and sat down with the two.

"Getting food from that man isn't easy, is it? Had to agree to have some discussions about century old movies from earth later with him in order to get this." He said while motioning towards the food which he now realised looked like something that belonged in the trash. Before he could comment on it Garrus spoke up.

"What are you doing here, Holt?" The question came so sudden that Holt was at a loss of words for a moment.

"Eating? This is the mess hall or am I wrong?"

"I meant on the ship. I've been working with C-Sec long enough to know that criminals don't change their way in life unless the pay is suddenly better on the legal side of the moral line." He paused a bit to add some dramatic effect or something. He was working like every other officer Holt had run into in his life. "And we're hardly getting paid here."

"When did I get classified as a criminal?" Maybe this table was a mistake.

"I deal with your type daily. Unless there's a profit in doing it, you won't do it. Be it credits or information." Holt knew that this C-Sec officer was gonna be annoying and difficult to 'win over' but this was just ridiculous.

"Yes, Of course I like credits." He said and before Garrus could get a word in between he continued. "But if Saren succeeds in whatever it is he's planning then I'm not sure if credits will have the same appeal to me as it does right now. That's why I'm following Shepard, I have a feeling that helping her is my best course of action if I wanna help save the world."

"You put a lot of trust in Shepard." Tali suddenly spoke up. Holt threw her a questioning look, urging her to expand on the question. "I mean you... you only met her for the first time on Eden Prime, right?" She said while nervously rubbing her hands now that the table's attention was on her. All of Garrus' attention was on Holt, his next answer better be good.

"Isn't it the same with you guys? You only first met her on The Citadel and still you follow her in her hunt for Saren."

"I've been waiting for years for someone to realise who Saren truly is." Garrus quickly says. "And Tali doesn't have much choice considering that she's being hunted by him. The Normandy is one of few places in the galaxy that can protect her." While what he says is true it's quite amusing at the same time. They'll probably send Tali on a mission sooner or later which will be anything but safe. "Since I put my trust in Shepard I'll trust her decision to bring you onboard, for now." He added that last bit with a hint of venom in his voice before he picked up his tray and left the table. 'Well that was a good diplomacy mission.' Holt thought to himself. Tali remained at the table eating away on her tube of... food? Maybe she would be more to trusting him than the turian.

"How tasty are those things?" He asks while motioning towards the tube in her hand. The question seems to have been one she had not expected.

"Uhm... I don't really know... I don't have anything to compare it to." So she's been living on those tubes her whole life?

"You've never had any of this?" He asked while motioning towards his tray.

"Eating that would probably kill me." She said with a dead serious voice. Holt couldn't but chuckle at that.

"I know it's far from any five-star restaurant food but at worst you'll have to spend a bit of time in the ladies room afterwards." Another thought hit him then. "How do quarians go to the toilet?" Tali either seemed to be really embarrassed or really mad from hearing that and promptly stood up and walked away. Another diplomatic mission failed it seems, Joker was a lot easier to get along with compared to these two. Maybe he was going the wrong way about this. Thinking about how everyone else like Wrex, Garrus and Tali put their complete trust in Shepard, maybe by winning her complete trust the others would follow. He looked around and soon found her sitting by a table surrounded by Alliance crew members, happily eating away while deep in some discussion. It was clear that she didn't like having him here which brings up the question to why she allowed him on the ship. Maybe she's just that desperate to catch Saren.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Jane was silently sitting on one of the boxes down in the vehicle bay. Browsing the extranet for anything that help her pass the time but found it difficult since most of the news was about herself. She was honored to be the first human spectre of course, but the amount of media attention on her was something she could do without. She had not been featured in the news since the skyllian blitz. And that thing had not calmed down for quite a few months. This mission was difficult enough without having reporters such as that annoying Khalisah al-Jilani speculate who's Commander Shepards secret boyfriend. As she managed to anger herself enough to shut off her omni-tool she let out a frustrated sigh and took a look around the area to see if there were any familiar faces around. She knew the faces of the people down here at the moment but their names escaped her. All except one. Holt was standing by one of the workbenches with his back tuned towards her, tinkering away with something. She don't know why but he had been following her like a pet dog since dinner earlier that day, pestering her with mundane conversations and stupid questions. He seemed to focused on whatever it was he was doing that she decided to get back at him a bit. As stealthy as she could be she started sneaking up on him. The plan was to surprise him like she had done during dinner. Only a few more steps now...

"Not gonna let that happen twice in one day, Shepard." Damn it, she had been doing so well. how did he know she was here?

"How could you tell it was me?" She asked as she got up beside him, looking down on the workbench which was littered with different parts of a weapon which she guessed was his Rosenkov sniper rifle. She was a bit jealous over him having one even though she wasn't a big fan of sniper rifles to begin with.

"When you're in my line of work you learn to always be aware of your surroundings." He said while still tinkering away. Shepard was in no way a tech-expert. She had been trained as a soldier and while she could maintain her own weapons she could only do that after months of getting familiar with them.

"I caught you by surprise earlier today." She said with a taunting tone which earned her a smile from Holt. "But that's not important right now."

"Then what is important enough for _you_ to actually approach _me_? I've tried to get your attention for the major part of this evening and now when I've given up, you come to me?"

"You were following me around like a tail when I was trying to get some work done. Of course I would ignore you." She said as she picked up a part of what she guessed was important since Holt immediately took it away from her and put it back on the table.

"I took you as a leader that always have time for their subordinates?"

"I make time when I can afford time. Don't know if you've noticed but we're in the middle of quite the important mission?" Holt let out a soft chuckle and started putting the rifle back together, apparently done with whatever it was he was doing. "So now that I got time, what is it you want or do you maybe have some complaints?" She asked while crossing her arms and turning towards him. Holt had admitted to working for information brokers in the past but denied that he was doing it at the moment. Shepard knew that Wrex had worked for The Shadow Broker recently but it was clear that he was only being used as muscle. Holt was different, he seems like a man that would work more with his brain and having such a person on The Normandy could be dangerous. That's if he was still loyal to someone that puts value in the information that Holt could acquire while on this ship.

"People always want something or wish to complain about stuff when they ask for you?" He asked with a smirk while still keeping himself busy with the rifle.

"More often than I'd want." She says while sighing.

"Well, I've got no complaints except for the coffee, which I'm sure you're aware of." Shepard almost let out a chuckle to that. "And what I want?... Guess I'm just curious."

"Curious about what?"

"You." He quickly said as he finished putting the rifle back together and turned towards her. "The great Commander Shepard that single-handily fought off legions of batarians in the skyllian blitz. The famous human that's the first human Spectre in history. I wanna know who the person beneath all those titles is."

"I see, and who's paying for that information?" She said in voice that came out a bit more bitter than she had intended.

"I guess my curiosity comes from my time as an agent for information brokers." He simply answered while laughing. "This time I guess I simply wanna know what motivates you to do what you're doing. Is it the vision from Eden Prime? Is it simply how your life up until now has shaped you?" He asked while looking her over. "You're an interesting person, Shepard. A person that I have a feeling will play a major role in the days to come. And my gut is telling me I'll benefit more from seeing you succeed than trying to oppose you." So he was also a person that listens to his gut.

"So the reason why you've been pestering me is because you wanna get to know me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"_Pestering_? Come on, Shepard. Didn't we have fun talking just a few days ago on the way back from Eden Prime?"

"You mean before admitting to being hired by people to find out Alliance secrets that would probably end up being used against me?" Holt seemed to give up as he raised his hands above his head.

"I know you have a hard time trusting my intentions, Shepard. Let's just wait until we get to Therum and I'll show you I'm on your side in this conflict." He said while putting his rifle back into his locker and started heading towards the elevator. "Nice talk, we should do it again sometime!" Shepard simply smiled and shook her head. Holt's personality had not changed since Eden Prime. Back then she had decided to put her trust in him after he helped them against the geth. She wanted to trust him as much as she trust everyone else but something just felt off. For the first time that she could remember her gut was telling her two different things. Don't trust him but trust him to follow through of his promise to help them on this mission. Shepard stood down in the vehicle bay for quite a while, deep in thought, before she told herself that she would wait and see how Therum played out before deciding how to deal with Holt.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Will it always be like this? Normandy dropping us off nowhere near the actual place we have to go to?" Holt asked as he was sitting in the gunner's seat of the mako. Scouting the surroundings looking for any hostiles. Once they had gotten close to the planet they were met with nothing but silence over the comm. Something has happened down here and everyone were willing to bet that Saren had something to do with it. They had been travelling in the mako for the last ten minutes.

"You can see the terrain around us. Joker actually managing to get us this close is a blessing." Alenko bitterly said from his seat in the back. Seems like he still wasn't pleased over the fact that Holt was down here with him and Shepard. Maybe he had hoped for some alone time with Shepard.

"I still refuse to believe that a place that's had several science teams investigating it doesn't have a closer landing spot."

"Deal with it, Holt." Shepard said as she made a sharp turn, probably on purpose, which made Holt's helm smack quite hard into the mako. He wasn't as belted up as the other two which Shepard knew.

"Ouch." He calmly stated.

"Naw, did it hurt? Want me to blow on it to make it better?"

"I got something you ca- Geth!" Holt felt a bit sad that he wasn't allowed to finish that sentence. Would've been fun hearing Shepard's reaction. He was now instead thrown into a firefight with these mechanical bastards.

"Where did that ship come from!?" Shepard yelled, referring to the ship that was dropping down geth in their path. Holt didn't care where it was from as he was quite busy shooting the numerous geth that were firing at them.

"The Normandy should've spotted that!" Alenko yelled back, not really bringing anything of value into the conversation.

"Unless it was already on the ground!" Shepard yelled as she was trying to keep them from taking too much fire. Holt had to admit that this woman was quite the good driver. Not that he was gonna admit that after her sharp U-turn earlier. The mako's weapons were shredding through the enemies. Making this as easy as taking candy from a volus. "Guess we're now certain that it's Saren's fault to why we didn't get any response from this place!" And as Shepard said that the last geth fell to the mako's fire. Holt was very much enjoying this gun.

"Should we continue on foot? If they have any bigger guns up ahead we'll be easy targets." Alenko asked as they continued past the destroyed geth.

"You don't trust our Commander's driving, Lieutenant?" Holt joked which he felt earned him a glare from the man. Holt started wondering if mistrust was the only reason as to why Alenko acted the way he did.

"We'll stay in the mako for now." Shepard declared. "If we face anything that will tear the mako to pieces we'll abandon it and go with plan B."

"What's plan B?" Alenko asked.

"I haven't thought of one yet." Shepard answered which caused Holt to laugh. The laugh was short lived though as he suddenly spotted some sort of building up ahead.

"Possible mine entrance up ahead, Shepard."

"Any hostiles?" And just as she asked that another ship came in above them and started dropping geth on them. "Never mind." Chuckling slighty, Holt quickly got to work on the geth. They were falling just as quickly as the ones earlier and Holt had a bad feeling about the whole thing. Geth were by no means stupid, they worked on nothing by logic which eliminated any faults that might come from having emotions. They didn't rush into fights without a purpose and them sending in troops like this only to get slaughtered? They clearly had a plan.

"Got a bad feeling about this!" He yelled over the sound of gunfire outside the mako. It might be bulletproof but it was nowhere near sound proof.

"Join the club! The geth must have something planned!" Shepard was driving the mako around the different buildings, trying to avoid as much damage done to the mako as possible. As we rounded a corner we were met with what made the geth so unafraid of losing a few of them.

"Oh shit..." Is all Holt manages to say as the giant colossus starts charging up its main weapon.

"What? What's going on!?" Alenko yells, with him being sort of blind in the back of the mako it's up to the other two to tell him that they're in a shitty situation. The colossus fired before they had the chance to tell him though. Shepard's quick reflexes made her able to evade most of the attack but the explosion still threw the mako hard into one of the buildings.

"Get out! Get out!" Shepard yelled as she quickly let go of the wheel. "We're going with plan B!" Alenko looked like he was about to say something before Shepard continued. "Which I'm working on!" The three of them quickly got out of the wrecked mako and headed for the nearest cover as the colossus slowly started making its way towards them.

"We still got some geth infantry around our area, Commander." Alenko reminded them, very helpful.

"Maybe we should focus on the colossus first? You know, the thing that's actually dangerous?" He asked while checking the surroundings for a good spot. Good spots were hard to come by with that colossus prowling around. Holt wished he had brought his rocket launcher.

"Any ideas on how to take it down, Holt?" Shepard asked. Well, now he simply had to come up with a plan. Perfect opportunity to earn their trust and respect. His mind was working overdrive thinking of different tactics on how to bring it down. Without any explosives it really narrowed it down. He would have to hack it.

"Yes, keep it distracted." He said as he activated cloak and ran out of cover. He ignored the angry yells from Alenko and was pleased to hear that Shepard had done as he had asked and started firing at the giant. Their weapons wouldn't even scratch it with its shields but the shields could easily be purged if Holt got close enough. Praying to whatever god that was listening that it didn't have any sort of heat-sensor, he ran up towards it. He spotted several other geth closing in around them. Seems like he was on a time limit. Once he was underneath it he deactivated the cloak so he could actually see his omni-tool and quickly went to work. It was easier said than done with the colossus constantly moving and all the geth around him. Thankfully they were focusing on Shepard and Alenko who kept moving in order to avoid being boxed in.

"I fucking hope this idea of yours is gonna work, Holt!" Shepard yelled over the comm.

"It will." He answered, slowly but surely working away the technical defenses of the colossus. Shields were now gone and it wouldn't surprise him if it noticed him being here any moment now. Problem was that even though the shields were down it didn't change the fact that they had barely enough firepower to bring it down. "Is there anything nearby that might be strong enough to bring this thing down?" He asked her. There was silence for a while but even though Holt still heard the sound of guns firing he knew that Shepard was deep in thought.

"The mako." She answered.

"Let me guess, self destruct? Seems like a brilliant thing to add to a transport vehicle."

"To make sure that it won't fall into the wrong hands." Alenko chimed in. He was probably referring to Holt there. He simply ignored the lieutenant and continued explaining his plan.

"I've got its shields down. If you can try and lure it close to the mako I'll keep them down long enough for the blast to hit it directly." He said as he got his gun out. The geth knew he was here now and was trying to get him away from their colossus.

"Won't you be caught in the blast then?" Shepard asked with a, what Holt thought it sounded like, concerned voice. That was a bit sweet of her.

"As long as you give me a five seconds heads up, I should be fine." A shot from a geth went right past him and he knew Shepard well enough by now to yell back into the comm. "I know you'd prefer another plan but I say we just go with this one and do so quickly!" He started firing at any geth that got close while still staying underneath the colossus. A disapproving sound came from Shepard but she did as he asked and started leading the geth closer to the mako. Biotics from Alenko helped Holt get some easy shots in and Shepard had not stopped firing her rifle for what seemed like an eternity.

"Activating self destruct sequence, Holt!" Shepard yelled over the comm, making sure he heard it. "You've got ten seconds before it blows!" Refraining from trying to think of another joke involving the word 'blow', Holt was mentally counting down. Once he was sure there were five seconds remaining, enough time to get out but not enough time for the colossus to recharge its shields, he activated cloak and started running. Shepard and Alenko were still firing to make sure it remained close to the ticking bomb. He could hear it begin charging up its main cannon again but that was cut short by the huge explosion that Holt hoped would be the end of it. The shockwave that followed threw him quite hard against a wall and the pain that followed was something he was not used to.

"Owww _fuck _ that hurt..." He complained as he lied down on the ground. Static interrupted whoever it was that was trying to contact him over the comm and he found it hard to breathe. He knew it was only because he got the wind knocked out of him and not something more serious. Quickly making sure he could move all his limbs he made sure nothing was broken. The smoke rising from where the mako and colossus had been confirmed that the plan had been a success. His ears were ringing slightly and the static remained. He could now barely hear Shepard shouting over the comm, trying to get his response.

"-an... Nathan!" Oh, she was calling him by his first name. Must mean he's made some progress in earning her trust at least.

"Stop shouting, Shepard. I've got quite the headache after that." He calmly said as he reached for his gun. He could barely hear the footsteps of something getting closer. Considering there might still be mech around he wasn't going to take any chances even though he was certain those footsteps belonged to his squad mates.

"I fucking said ten seconds!" Shepard yelled angrily over the comm as she and Alenko came into view. She opened her helmet and motioned for him to do the same. Good thing to considering the static was getting annoying. "You waited way too long before you started running!" She yelled angrily as she offered him a hand. He accepted it and casually brushed himself off as he got up.

"Yeah, my inner clock has never been very accurate." Shepard was glaring at him now while Alenko was keeping watch for any remaining geth. Seems like the area was clear. They had some serious combat skills, these Alliance soldiers. Suddenly, Shepard started laughing. This terrified Holt. Had he broken her or something?

"That's an understatement... Good work though." She said as she lightly patted him on his shoulder and turned towards the mine entrance beyond the smoking pile of mako and colossus. "Doubt we'll run into any more of these down in the mines. Hopefully the rest of the mission won't be as explosive."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"I thought we were heading into mines?" Holt asked as the group was stalking the prothean ruins.

"We were in some mines, now we're in a tower. It's not that complicated." Shepard told him as she peeked around a corner, looking for more geth ambushes which there seemed to be a lot of in here.

"That's the thing. A tower must be tall to be called a 'tower'. Why couldn't we just drop in on top of this tower to begin with?" Shepard was about to join the debate and correct Holt that this was hardly a tower any longer. Throughout the years it had been imbedded into the mountain. She decided not to get down to their level though.

"You have any idea how dangerous that would be?" Kaidan asked him as they continued down the halls.

"And making a drop in a mako isn't? That colossus seemed to be quite bad for your health as well."

"If there had been a closer drop-point we would have taken it." Kaidan said with a clearly frustrated voice. Shepard wished she had taken Wrex and Garrus with her instead. Just as good to have on the battlefield but less noisy and annoying than these two.

"And we're gonna have to walk all the way back once we're done here since the mako is just a pile of rubble now."

"Shut up you two. There's something up ahead." Shepard said as some sort of shimmering light could be seen in the room ahead. With their weapons ready they sneaked up towards it. They had not been expecting to see what they found though. An asari hovering in some of energy field.

"Hello? Is someone there?" The asari was turned away from them and sounded more than a bit scared. Shepard could hear Holt suppressing a laugh and shot him an angry glare.

"I'm Commander Shepard of th-... shut up Holt!" She yelled as the man started laughing.

"Hahah! This is like taken out of some sort of comedy vid!" He said between the laughs. Shepard punching him hard on the shoulder didn't even stop it. Sighing, she holstered her weapon and waited for his laughter to die down a bit before she continued.

"...Of the SSV Normandy. We're here looking for Liara T'Soni."

"Ah, that would be me." She said while desperately trying to turn around to face them. It must've looked funny cause Holt started cracking up again.

"How did you end up in... that?" Kaidan asked as he went up to touch it. Seemed to be a solid wall and there were no visible consoles around. This thing must've kept her away from the geth.

"It's some sort of trap, it triggered as I tried to escape the geth."

"So you're not on their side then?"

"What? No! Why would you think that?" She answered Kaidan's question.

"Your mother is working with Saren and the geth. There were suspicions that you were doing the same." She said even though after meeting the asari she didn't believe for a second that she was with the bad guys. Shepard noticed that the laughter had died down completely by now. And that was because Holt was no longer with them. She looked around and saw him standing next to some large machine.

"I haven't spoken with my mother for at least a few decades. Whatever she and this 'Saren' is up to I'm not part of it." The conviction in her voice was almost enough for Shepard to believe her right at the spot. But after what had happened with Holt she decided to hold off her opinion of the asari for now. Speaking off, was he still fiddling around with that machine?

"What are you doing, Holt?" Kaidan asked before she had a chance. Holt was now inside whatever it was.

"I dont see any console to bring that shield down and there doesn't seem to be any path around it." Oh no, Shepard could now see just what kind of machine that was.

"So you're gonna..." Was all she managed to get out.

"I'll make another entrance to the other side of that wall that doesn't involve ancient prothean traps." He said as he powered up the laser drill. Liara started squirming in her place inside the force field.

"What's happening!? What's that sound!?" The asari yelled. Before Shepard could intervene, Holt fired of the laser into the wall several meters away from them. The sound and heat was close to unbearable and Shepard was unable to approach Holt as she was busy shielding her eyes and ears. It only lasted for a few seconds but once the sound died down she could see another entrance was created. Furious she turned towards Holt as he was getting off the machine. Her second hard punch to his jaw for the day connected and she raised her voiced at him as he lightly stumbled backwards.

"If you could not be reckless for more than a minute I wouldn't have to punch you this often!"

"Reckless?" Holt asked as he raised himself to his full height, a head taller than Shepard. "No one is injured and now we access to the room that most likely holds the conso-"

"This time! No one got injured this time!" Shepard interrupted him while stretching her arms up towards the machine that could've been their deaths only moments earlier. "What would you've done if that thing had more power than you anticipated!? Or are our deaths something you're aiming for!?" Shepard refused to let the height difference have any impact and raised her chin even though being shorter managed to stare Holt down.

"If I had been uncertain about my plan I wouldn't have gone through with it. Understand one thing, Shepard." His voice was more serious than it had been throughout the whole mission so far. "I _always_ think before I act. I always do whatever it takes to complete the mission."

"And what exactly is your mission?" She asked while still staring him down. She noticed that neither Kaidan nor Liara had spoken a word since this argument began. They were probably both too scared to get a word in. Shepard was surprised though. Normally by now the other person would've backed off and faced away from her.

"Find Liara T'Soni and get her off this planet." He motioned towards the force field that still held the asari in place. "Something that is very much still possible if we stop standing here bickering like children." Shepard lightly shook her head.

"We'll speak of this later." She said with suppressed rage as she acknowledged that he had a point. This fight could wait until they were back on The Normandy. She went through the newly created passage and quickly found what resembled a console. Holt quickly passed her and brought up his omni-tool and began work on breaking down the force field. While she hated him taking simply walking up and doing it she had to admit that neither she or Kaidan would get it done anytime soon. The lieutenant in question walked up to her and whispered in a low voice.

"What should we do about Holt, Commander?" Shepard shrugged. She honestly didn't know at this point. "First the thing with the mako and colossus and now this. He's a danger to the team if he's gonna act like this."

"It's not what he's doing that angers me, Kaidan. It's that he does it with little to no warning to the rest of us. It was the same back on Eden Prime." Back then she had given him the goal of reaching the beacon but he had paid little attention to any other orders she had given him back then. "I think he's simply reluctant to work as a team. And that is something, which you said, that could be a danger to the team." As she said that she heard the sudden yelp of an asari hitting the floor. She walked over the Liara and offered her a hand.

"Thank you...I'm guessing you have several questions to ask. I do as well but I'm hoping that can wait until we get away from any possible geth attacks." Liara said as she grasped Shepard's hand and stood up. Her legs was a bit wobbly from being in that force field for too long.

"That was my plan as well." Shepard said as she turned towards Holt and Kaidan. "Long walk back people, let's get moving." Holt seemed to at least obey that order as they started backtracking through the halls. This time there were a lot less geth prowling around. In fact, there were none to be found anywhere.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Kaidan asked as they all had their weapons up and ready to shoot anything that would pop out from the shadows.

"And you just jinxed us. Good going there, Lieutenant." Holt said with a chuckle to which Kaidan simply muttered a curse. They were moving quite slowly through the halls as Liara was still having difficulties walking.

"How long were you in that force field?" Shepard asked the asari.

"I lost track of time after a while. But if I had to guess I'd sa-"

"Guess I should thank you for saving me the trouble of getting the asari out of that field." A deep growling voice suddenly said, causing Shepard to flinch as she was focused on Liara. A krogan followed by several geth rounded a corner. the hallway they were in was quite wide but had little to no covers. They would be in trouble if a fight broke out but it seemed like the krogan wanted to talk for now. Shepard decided that she would stall for time while trying to figure out how to deal with them.

"Who are you?" She asked the krogan.

"My name doesn't matter. Hand over the bitch and I'll give you two a quick and clean death."

"What makes you think you can order us around?" Hold on, did he say _two_? Shepard threw a quick glance behind her and noticed that Liara and Kaidan were the only ones behind her. "Where the fuck is Holt?" She whispered to Kaidan as the krogan gave his answer that she ignored. He was obviously working for Saren and would be dealt with but the more important question right now was the whereabouts of her last squad member.

"I... I don't know. He was here a minute ago." Kaidan whispered back.

"I didn't see or hear him run off." Liara added.

"You dare ignore me, human?" The krogan's booming voice kicked her out of her conversation with the others. "Very well. I'll give you the slow, painful death instead." He said as he brought out his shotgun. 'God damn you, Holt.' Shepard thought as she too fixed her weapon on the enemy.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_Thanks for the increasing reviews this story has been getting. Please keep it going as it's a lot of fun and helpful seeing what people think of the chapters. _

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Holt silently walked around the group of krogan and geth. The angry whispers of Shepard behind him was probably about him suddenly vanishing. If she had not been so occupied with the asari she would've heard the krogan approaching as well. They weren't known as the most stealthy of races after all. Shepard and Alenko were both aiming their rifles at the krogan while Liara... Holt wasn't sure exactly what she was doing. A slight sudden shimmer of blue light surrounded her hands for a moment before it disappeared. So she was trying to use her biotics then. Very much impossible after being starved for a few days.

"Lay down your gun and surrender. You have no chance of walking away from alive otherwise." Shepard demands with a steady voice. Holt walks around the krogan silently, trying to think of the best way to approach this. A knife could 'maybe' take out the krogan but would leave the team open to the geth rifles. Taking out the geth first would leave them with a very angry krogan. Decisions decisions... The krogan's rumbling laughter makes it easy for Holt to sneak by.

"Hahah. It seems like I'll get the fight I was promised!" He yelled as biotics suddenly surrounded him. A krogan battlemaster then, shit just hit the fan. Holt quickly brought out his omni-tool, breaking his cloak. The geth were quick to respond but Holt was faster. He sent out a small yet effective EMP charge in the midst of the synthetic group. Their lenses all went blank as their bodies slumped to the floor. The sound made the krogan to quickly turn around with his shotgun ready to fire at whatever it was that had taken down his backup. Holt was once again one step ahead as his pistol was already up, shooting at the powerful barrier surrounding the battlemaster. While still shooting to keep the enemy from being able to get a good shot in he rounded the corner the krogan and the geth had rounded just a few moments earlier. Shepard and the others had been quick to react as well and had started firing as they retreated to a room further back. "Nice little trick but it won't do you much good in the end!" The krogan yelled, apparently trying to taunt Holt to show himself.

"Could've just knifed you but that wouldn't be fun." Holt answered as he remained still just around the corner, listening for any movement from the krogan. His cloak would need a few more seconds to recharge and even he knew that he would stand no chance against a krogan battlemaster in a corridor with little to no cover.

"You're just gonna stay there until your cloak is recharged?" The krogan sounded disappointed. Oh well, Holt wasn't here to please him anyway. Shepard's voice was suddenly heard from his ear-piece.

"Liara is barely conscious, Holt." Her attempt at using biotics must've sent her over the limit then. "Can you lure him away from our position?" She asked. He hoped that damn asari was worth it.

"So I put my neck on the line against a krogan _battlemaster_ while you three hide in a ro-..." A sudden clicking sound caught his attention around the corner. A clicking sound followed by something bouncing on the stone floor. He didn't bother finishing his sentence or thinking about the best possible way to deal with this. He threw himself away from the corner, as far away from the krogan as possible. The explosion that followed thankfully wasn't as powerful as he had guessed and he was out of range for it. While on the ground he quickly activated his cloak just before the krogan appeared rounding the corner.

"Come on. Don't tell me you've gone back into your cloak?" He taunted as he started walking down the corridor where Holt was lying cloaked on the ground. Even the tiniest sound would give away his location. That krogan shotgun didn't even have to be accurate in order to kill him. "I have a lot of time..." The krogan grumbled as he shot at a random spot on the floor, meters away from Holt. "But I don't have the patience!" He roared as he shot another shot, a tiny bit closer to Holt. "Bullets is also something I have a lot of." Once again the krogan shot a random location and once again getting closer. "And I'm running out of spots to shoot at." If this kept up the next or two would hit him and hit him hard. Betting everything on this next shot he brought up his omni-tool. The shot that came was only inches away from his gut and as soon as the shot was fired he dropped his cloak, closed his eyes and shot a bright flash towards the krogan. The krogans' momentarily blindness gave Holt the opening he was hoping for. He rushed forward, combat knife ready, and drove it hard into the gut of the krogan. The force behind his charge combined with the disoriented krogan actually allowed him to tackle the battlemaster to the ground. Holt didn't believe for a second that a knife was all that would be required to kill this monster off. He quickly got up and ran back around the corner, towards the room where Shepard and the others were bunkered up in.

"Damn it Holt, answer me!" Shepard had been trying to contact him since the explosion but Holt had a feeling the krogan was somehow listening in and remained silent as he activated his cloak once again, brought up his sniper rifle and waited outside the room. The krogan had by now recovered from the flash and was approaching the room with very angry steps. "There's no way he abandoned us here, Kaidan!" Seems like the lieutenant didn't have much faith in him. But this was working in his favor, the krogan probably thought Holt was long gone by now and instead had his sole focus on the others. "Stay behind cover, I hear very heavy footsteps." Shepard said in a whispering voice, probably having forgot that she was currently on an open comm channel.

"Good ears, human." The krogan said as he casually walked up to the door right next to Holt and started shooting. Holt could hear that Shepard and Alenko was returning that fire, keeping the krogan just outside the room. Silently, he brought his sniper rifle up and aimed it at the krogan's head. The shimmering blue biotic shield was still up but was doomed to vanish soon enough if the humans kept up their fire. Moments later the krogan side-stepped and took cover on the other side next to the door. Smiling, Holt let his cloak drop just before he pulled the trigger, allowing him to see the obvious look of surprise and the slight look of fear on the krogan. A sniper shot going off in this halls made a deafening sound which was followed by the heavy thud of a headless krogan body. Getting shot in the head at point blank by a sniper rifle seemed to be fatal.

"Holt?" Shepard's questioning voice was heard from inside the room. Seems like she finally turned off the comm.

"Shepard." He responded as he holstered his weapon and moved over to the dead krogan.

"Would it kill you to let us now about your plans in the future!?" Her voice was suddenly right behind him. That woman moved fast.

"This time it would've, yes." He answered as he quickly checked the dead body for anything of interest. Not a single data pad or anything, bummer.

"The EMP charge, great idea. Using us as bait for the krogan, something I would've wanted to know beforehand!" Alright, now she was simply being annoying. Holt rose to his full height so he could look down on her.

"You should really start looking at the results. Who cares how the situation is handled if you're alive at the end of it!?" He said as he stared her down. Tried to stare her down at least, those green eyes were drilling into him. They simply stared at each other and Holt could feel Shepard getting more and more frustrated with him. He had offered her his services with no mentions of any payment whatsoever. He had even been nice enough to avoid spilling secrets about The Normandy. That would change when they got back tough. Shepard opened her mouth, probably about to remind him of how much she didn't care for his ways of doing things. Her eyes suddenly widened and before Holt could even think about she throw him to the side. That caught Holt by enough surprise that he didn't had time to avoid falling to the floor. What surprised him more was that Shepard fell to the ground as well. Difference was that she was _bleeding_.

"Geth back online!" Alenko yelled as he threw up a barrier between the now mobile geth and the humans on the ground. Holt cursed himself. He didn't even notice the shot hitting Shepard, that's how much he had been focused on trying to stand up to Shepard and now she was dying because of him. Because she had actually saved him.

"Get Shepard back into the room!" Holt ordered the lieutenant as he brought up his pistol in one hand and prepared overcharges with his others. Normally he was nothing but calm and calculating in the middle of a firefight. But this time he was actually mad. Anger fueled his actions and the geth were falling like flies. He don't know how long the fight lasted and he didn't care to check and see if they were all destroyed. He followed the others into the room and was relieved to see that Shepard was slightly moving. That's a good sign that someone isn't dead, _yet_.

"She's hurt pretty bad." Lieutenant obvious said. "We need to hurry back to The Normandy." Holt noticed the asari was now completely out cold. They would have to carry both of them all the way back to the the location they were dropped off.

"Shepard won't survive that journey." Holt calmly said as his mind went back to working out the most efficient and logical solution to their situation. Alenko looked at him with some anger in his eyes because of Holt's bluntness. Screw logical for now, efficient was more important. "This is a tower."

"Well done?" Alenko said as he checked Shepard's pulse again, clearly uncertain on how to deal with what was happening.

"Top of tower. Radio The Normandy to pick us up from up there." Holt said as he walked over to them and picked Shepard up. "You carry the asari." He said as he turned around and started heading straight for stairs, elevators, whatever would take him to the top. Quickly asking himself why he was so worried over a woman that drove him insane with how much she questioned his methods of getting a job done. Saren was dangerous and all but there were other people in the galaxy that was just as skilled and inspiring as Shepard. His gut quickly told him otherwise though and reminded him of the very first things his eyes and ears had told him of Shepard. Important and one of a kind.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

The low hymm of nearby machines was all Shepard could hear as she woke up. For a moment she was still and silent until she recalled her last memory. Bolting up while ignoring the numb pain in her shoulder, she scanned the area around her. Her eyes only took mere seconds before they were focused and she breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the medical room on The Normandy.

"Bolting up like that is not something I would recommend someone that has gotten shot to do so soon." The soft voice of doctor Chakwas came from the chair by the desk facing away from her. The doctor seemed deep in paperwork and didn't bother turning around to face Shepard.

"How long was I out?" She asked, thinking about what she had to catch up on. She probably had to contact the council about them locating Liara. Wait... Liara!

"The asari is fine, just exhausted." Chakwas said while motioning towards the bed next to Shepard in which an asari was quietly sleeping in. "Lieutenant Alenko contacted the council in your place and you've been out for just over a day." And this is why she loved Chakwas. A doctor but also a mind reader.

"How bad were my wounds?" Shepard whispered as she now knew that someone was getting some rest right next to them.

"How bad _are_ your wounds, you mean?" She finally turned around in the chair to face Shepard. "If that shot would've been a bit lower it would've killed you. Those geth rifles are quite powerful."

"Yeah, I noticed." Shepard groaned as she turned to sit at the edge of the bed. "How did we get out of there?"

"The lieutenant carried the asari and Holt carried you."

"And where are we heading now?"

"It was decided that we would wait until you woke up before we decide our next destination."

"Alright, I better get going and do this whole 'Commander' thing and make some decisions then."

"Maybe later, right now what you need is some more rest." Chakwas said with a stern voice but Shepard knew how to deal with this woman. She had been known her for several years after all.

"Rest is something I can do in my own comfy bed instead of this slab of rock you call a bed, right?" The doctor gave her a small frown and a stern look. Shepard did her best at looking innocent and her victory was secured as Chakwas let out a tired sigh.

"I guess I can't stop you from pretending to go back to your cabin for some rest while you're actually going back there to do some work." Shepard jumped off the bed while giving Chakwas a bright smile and started making her way towards the door. "Promise me that you'll at least get something to eat and drink." She said as she turned back to her desk.

"Promise." Shepard answered as she made her way to the mess hall. Quickly grabbing a bottle of water and a sandwich which would not be consumed tonight. She had no appitite whatsoever. As soon as the door to her cabin closed behind her she threw the food on the sofa as she sat down at her desk while starting up her console. Anderson would want to know what happened down there as well as telling him that they would need a new mako. She guessed that they had not bothered to pick up the remains of it as they made their escape. Message from admiral Kahoku that the trap involving a thresher maw on Edolus turned out to be something Cerberus had set up. She was not quite sure what she was supposed to do about it. If she knew how to take out Cerberus she would've done so already. A sudden knock on her door caught her by surprise. Was Chakwas here already to check up on her? "Come on in." She said as she took a mouthful from the water bottle. The door opened and in came... no one. There was no one there. Her eyes narrowed and she, with some difficulty, stood up and walked over to the door. No one was outside either. She was just about to call out when a voice came from inside her room.

"You're not gonna eat this?" Startled, she quickly spun around before she could even register who it was. She calmed down but got more irritated when she saw who it was.

"You're abusing that cloak of yours..." She muttered as she went back to her desk, ignoring Holt sitting on the sofa checking out the wrapped up sandwich she had tossed there earlier. "How did you know I was here?" She asked.

"Chakwas told me." He said as he unwrapped it and started chewing away. Shepard decided to let it slide as she could use it to 'prove' that she'd eaten when Chakwas came to check up on her.

"I see, and _why _are you here?"

"Just had some questions." He answered as he eyed her water bottle. She quickly brought it close to her chest. She was thirsty, he was not getting this as well. "Also wanted to catch up, You know, hear what's new with you."

"... You're aware that I _just _woke up?"

"Yeah of course. It's only that last time I saw you get knocked out cold, you ended up having a vision of the reapers, Saren, the doomsday etc etc yada yada." He joked while gesturing with his hand.

"No vision this time."

"Bummer... Any other news?"

"I just found out which group that were behind the thresher maw on Edolus. Something you needed for your employer, if I remember correctly?"

"Willing to bet that someone else got that contract." He answered as he rolled up the paper and took aim for the trashcan on the other side of the room. Shepard had to suppress a giggle as he started swearing from missing his mark. As he stood up and walked over to pick the trash up, he continued. "I actually had a question in mind to ask you once you woke up."

"And what question is that?" She asked. Holt didn't return to the sofa and instead remained standing.

"We didn't really see eye to eye down on Therum."

"That's an understatement."

"Yes, well..." Holt looked strangely uncomfortable. From what Shepard had seen he was almost always calm and collected. Much like herself, he seemed to enjoy being in control. Right now Holt was not in control and Shepard, in a weird sort of way, was. "I was half expecting you to kick me off the ship once we were done down there. Or hell, maybe even just leave me down in those ruins and be done with it." Shepard was about to say that, while the thought about doing such a thing was there, she would never leave anyone behind. Before she managed to say that Holt continued. "And then all of a sudden, you take a bullet for me." Holt was looking straight at her and once again they started one of their staring contests. "Why?" Shepard was not sure how she'd answer that question. For her it was common sense to take a bullet for anyone fighting by your side.

"Is it that strange to you?" She asked.

"Honestly? Yes, it is. While it's true I'm mostly working solo the times I've worked in a group I've had no desire to lay down my life in favor for someone else."

"Then you've operated in a group and not a team."

"There's a difference?"

"There is, but it's difficult to explain. All I can say is that as long as you're part of my squad I'll do all I can do to keep you alive." They were still looking at each other. Shepard wondered if this is what other people felt when she stared them down. Compelled to speak the truth as the other person would no doubt be able to tell if it's a lie. It was a method she liked using with how effective it was.

"Fair enough, I'll have to give this 'catch a bullet for someone else' a try sometime." Holt suddenly said as he turned around and headed for the door.

"It's not something I would recommend doing unless absolutely necessary." She said with a small laugh. While she didn't see his face she could swear there was a small, honest smile there as well. Holt stopped in front of the closed door, seemingly deep in thought.

"Thank you, Shepard." Was all he said before he opened the door and left. Shepard sat by her desk, eyebrows almost hitting her hairline. She had not expected him to be grateful and she had certainly not been expecting how happy she was to hear him being it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

_A/N - Late chapter, sorry about that. Filler chapter, not sorry about that. I like writing them but we'll get on with the story soon enough. Thanks for reading._

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Staring the asari down, Holt noticed her nervous and confused expression and smiled wickedly. Time after time she had defeated him but now the tables had turned. She was walking right into his trap and she didn't even realise it. The humiliation he had suffered by her hands wouldn't matter after this next move.

"I... call?" Damn it all to hell.

"Mind-reading is something you should add to your résumé." Holt sighed as he showed his hand. Liara showed her hand as well and after a few seconds of her looking down at the cards she realised she had won. A small smile formed on her lips as she took her newest earnings.

"I'm not capable of mind-reading." She said while trying to stack all her chips.

"I've read that asaris can eat a man's soul if he's not careful." The chef said as he eyed Liara's chips with great jealousy.

"You've _read_?" Joker asked in a teasing tone. This was the group Holt had managed to gain the complete trust of after several days on The Normandy. An asari doctor, a crippled pilot and a chef he didn't even know the name of. The group was sitting in the lightly dimmed mess hall, late in the evening. The chef had showed Holt his old poker set and it was a good time consumer. Or it was until the asari started winning left and right even though she had learned the rules of the game only moments before.

"I can actually read, Moreau. My job requires me to be able to read so I don't _accidentally_ feed the crew something that might kill them."

"_accidentally_?" Joker asked with the same tone the chef had used.

"I can feed someone something that might have... undesired after-effects on purpose." He said as he started handing out new cards. Holt had to play it safe now. No more trying to go head to head with the asari. Take out the other two and then he can focus on her afterwards.

"All your cooking has undesired after-effects." Joker grumbled as he took a look at his cards. So painfully obvious to read, he was not gonna win this hand. Holt peeked on his own cards. King and queen of spades, fucking jackpot.

"I've found the food to acceptable the short time I've been here." Liara said as she took a look on her cards. Face so readable that it was unreadable. Was she trying to mess with his head or did she actually have bad cards? Holt narrowed his eyes towards her as he went through every possible hand she might be sitting with. He stopped trying to figure it out as he realised that there are quite a lot of different cards she might be holding.

"That... That is the most generous thing anyone has ever said about my cooking..." The chef said as he was fighting back tears. He took a quick glance on his own cards and his face changed to one of disgust. "Well, I fold..." One down, two to go and Holt had not even said anything yet.

"I'm in." Joker said with what he believed would fool Holt to think that he had good cards. Nice try.

"Same." Holt said as he tossed some of very few remaining chips into the pile in the middle of the mess hall table.

"Uhm... I don't know..." Liara said with that confused look of hers. 'You're not fooling anyone this time, Asari.' Holt thought. "I guess I'm in as well." The chef nodded as he dealt the first three community cards. Six, eight and nine.

"Oh!" Holt heard the asari yelp with happiness. Or was it a bluff? Such an obious reaction can't be real. Unless that's what she wants Holt to believe while in reality she actually have some really good cards. Unless _that's_ what she wants Holt to think and she actually have some really horrible cards!

"I raise." Joker said. Holt cursed himself. He had been so focused on the asari that he completely forgot that Joker's shitty cards to begin with was now actually good cards. This showdown had turned into a three-way duel.

"I call." Liara said with a bright smile. Holt couldn't keep up now, what should he do? Desperate times calls for desperate actions.

"All-in." He simply said with a neutral tone, neutral tone and neutral body language. They should believe that he has a seven coupled with either a five or ten. This victory should be his.

"I call." Liara said with the same happy expression. Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit.

"I fold..." Joker sighed. Shit shit shit shit shit.

"Alright, show your hands." The chef said. Reluctantly, Holt showed his cards which earned him a questioning glance from the other two males at the table.

"You went all-in with _that_?" Joker asked.

"Oh, does Holt have better cards than me?" Liara asked with a confused look on her face. Clearly acting more ignorant than she was, clever girl.

"Depends what you ha-..." Holt didn't even bother finish his sentence as Liara showed her seven and ten. 'So this is how it ends...' Holt thought as he kind of zoned out as the chef showed the remaining two community cards. Judging by the happy expression on Liara Holt could guess that he was out of the game.

"What are you guys up to?" A voice from across the room asked. Shepard was walking towards them while curiously looking at the cards and chips scattered over the table. She had been in quite a good mood during the day and that had made the overall mood on the ship better as well. Which in turn made it easier for Holt to win the hearts and minds of the crew. But while looking around the only hearts and minds he had managed to win over so far he wondered if he should double his efforts from now on.

"Texas hold 'em." The chef answered with great joy in his voice. "An old game that has been passed down to me by my father and his father before him. Was really popular back on earth years back." Shepard went from looking curious to looking confused.

"You bet using these chips and whoever has the best hand wins the chips." Joker explained as he handed the Shepard a chip to take a closer look at. Her confused expression didn't change though.

"Why doesn't Holt have any chips?" She asked. While her expression didn't show it Holt knew that she was making fun of him. He threw her an angry look and decided not to answer the question.

"Cause he's shit at this game." Joker explained once again. Damn all these people. A yawn from Liara brought all attention to her which made her blush slightly.

"Sorry. I'm still a bit... off... since Therum." She said while trying her best to make herself as small as possible beneath all the eyes watching her.

"Go catch some sleep. We'll reach The Citadel quite early tomorrow." Shepard said with a smile. The asari simply nodded and left her spoils of war at the table. The chef and Joker also stood up from their chairs. They weren't gonna leave him here alone with Shepard were they? She could unleash a barrage of taunts at him from this situation.

"I'll turn in as well. Got breakfast to throw together in a couple of hours." The chef said as he started walking towards the sleeping pods. "Just leave the poker set somewhere in the kitchen when you're done, Holt." He said over his shoulder. Joker simply waved at them and left for his cockpit. Did he seriously sleep there every night?

"So it's some sort of game involving tactics and deceits?" Shepard asked as she sat down at Liara's place. Holt simply nodded as he began shuffling the cards. No doubt Shepard would want to give it a try as well. "Sounds like a game you should be good at." She said while putting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her palms.

"That Liara is cheating somehow..." He mumbled to which Shepard simply lightly chuckled. "You know how to play normal poker I'm guessing?" He asked to which she nodded. Not playing for any chips or credits this time, Shepard wasn't here to play games. She was here for something else.

"You seem to get along quite well with them." She said as she peered down on her cards. Another one of her 'talks' then it seemed. Holt had noticed that Shepard often taking members of the crew to the side and chatting with them one on one. The woman seemed to enjoy those talks with how often she had them.

"The ones giving me a chance? Yeah." He said as he looked down at his own cards. Tossing three of them away he looked over to Shepard. She raised three fingers and Holt started dealing out the cards.

"I did give you a chance, my trust." She said while still not giving anything away as she looked at her cards. This woman was gonna be more difficult to beat than Liara.

"I still haven't earned your trust even after Therum?" Holt said chuckling, trying to throw Shepard off her game.

"After thinking about it, I think you earned back." She answered while holding up one finger. Holt's eyes shot up to meet hers. He had not been expecting Shepard to trust him again so soon. He had kind of expected Therum to just be a stepping stone towards that goal.

"What changed your mind?" He asked as he tossed a card into the pile. He prayed to all gods listening to give him anything with spades.

"Our talk last night about sacrificing yourself, taking a bullet for your team." He gave her a card which she once again looked at with little to no hint of what it could've be. Good thing they stopped playing texas hold 'em. "It hit me that you actually did put your body on the line to help us. With that colossus and all." He took a look at his own drawn card, thanking all the gods who had listened to him.

"To be fair, I was certain that I was gonna make it out of there alive all along." He said as he showed his cards. "Flush, queen high." He said with great pride.

"Flush, ace high. And even so, you did what was required of you in a team." It must be that chair. That chair is giving people superpowers in card games. "Keep doing what you're doing and I bet the rest of the team will see you in a better light as well." She said as she stood up and started walking away.

"So if I keep losing in various card games, people will like me?" He asked which earned him a soft giggle and a wave of her hand. Holt was now left alone and slowly started cleaning up the poker set. Thinking of his next excuse to give The Shadow Broker to why he didn't have any profitable intel on The Normandy yet.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Shepard stood in the docking area now containing The Normandy. The ground team, except the Alliance members of it, had dispersed quickly once they had docked and now Shepard was stuck here while Admiral Mikhailovich was busy inspecting the ship. She didn't want to stay here just to hear his complaints about the structural design of the ship or the crew members of various species.

"If he dare complain about my girl's specs..." Joker muttered from where he was standing by Shepard's side. The pilot had chosen to stay behind once he found out the Admiral would expect the ship. "If he says anything negative about my girl I'll... I'll ask Holt to see if he can dig up any dirt on the Admiral and then I'll head straight to the media."

"Joker..." Kaidan said with a warning tone from Shepard's other side. Ashley simply chuckled from where she was standing next to Kaidan.

"Sorry, I'll _demand_ Holt to dig up some dirt." The pilot corrected himself. Shepard would probably laugh at that but was right now in quite the foul mood because of the admiral in question. Inspect the ship? Fair enough, go right ahead. Question her crew just because of them having scales or were blue? Over the line, admiral.

"So what're your plans for this shore leave, Joker?" Ashley asked in an attempt of lighten up the mood. "72 hours of being grounded. Must be a new record for you." She said teasingly.

"Pft, I've been in surgery for close to that amount of time." He answered which Shepard hope was an exaggeration. "And my plans for tonight was to hit some bar with Holt." To Shepard, Joker looked so out of place while not sitting at the helm of The Normandy. Almost seemed like a different person.

"You two seem to get along." Kaidan said, hinting towards his feelings on the matter. "Where did he run off to by the way? He seemed to be in a hurry off the ship once we docked." Shepard was thinking about telling Kaidan to let it go for now since she was not in the mood for another argument involving anything about any of her crew members. But she was curious as well as to where Holt had gone. She had told him that they had a 72 hour shore leave and the next moment he was gone.

"Beats me, probably something involving information brokers." Joker simply shrugged which made Kaidan visually more irritated.

"And that doesn't bother you?" He asked angrily before he shifted his eyes towards Shepard. "It doesn't bother _you_?"

"Honestly, I'm more upset about him lying about who he was the first time we met him." She answered. Kaidan obviously had something to say about that but his military upbringing made it impossible for him to question his superiors. Ashley was a bit more free-spoken though.

"You're not worried that he's selling us out?"

"At first I was, no doubt." She ignored Joker's mumbling about the admiral probably sexually harassing his girl at this very moment. "But why would he tell us about his background as an information broker agent if he was planning on getting information on us, on The Normandy?" She said while gesturing towards the ship in question.

"For the record, he has never asked me for anything confidential." Joker added in to which Kaidan simply scoffed.

"He's not gonna ask nicely when doing something illegal." Shepard could feel that this conversation could go on for a while and was actually relieved to see the Admiral returning from his inspection of the ship. The Admiral did not approve of the ship's design. Joker threw him an angry glance for that. He did also not approve of the non-Alliance crew members on the ship. Saying that their presence was a threat to the Alliance or some bullshit like that. Did people not understand that Saren is the biggest threat and wasting time and effort not trusting each other would make this battle impossible to win? Shepard mildly told him that his opinions had been noted and that she would take them under consideration. Well, she mildly lied to him that is. As the Admiral left she let out a frustrated sigh and turned to walk towards the Presidium. Captain Anderson was the one superior officer she actually liked and was looking forward to meet with him again. She had been keeping him updated through messages but face to face dialogue was something she very much preferred.

"Well, I'll be off... standing around somewhere doing nothing until tonight I guess." Joker said as they were in an elevator taking them to the Presidium.

"Well, at least it's better than you _sitting_ around doing nothing." Ashley said with a smile.

"It's 'Mock the cripple'-day, is it?" Joker sighed. "And you wonder why I like Holt... He never mocks me personally..."

"Really?" Shepard felt compelled to ask. She would guess that Holt would tease Joker for his illness at least once or twice.

"He said something the other night about it being better to break down physically rather than mentally." Joker shrugged as their elevator reached its destination. He quickly, or at least as quickly as he could, split from the group and went off to do his standing around doing nothing. Shepard suddenly had a great idea of how to improve group morale. She quickly activated her omni-tool and sent Joker a message, asking him to keep her updated of where he and Holt would go later tonight. She then set off on contacting the rest of the ground team. Just because they had shore leave didn't mean they had to avoid each other.

"You're tapping away quite heavily there, skipper." Ashley said as they reached the ambassadors house where they would probably find Captain Anderson in another heated argument with Ambassador Udina.

"Just making plans for tonight, Ashley." She answered with a smile. "Keep your schedule open, both of you."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Holt was in a dark, familiar looking room. Ordinary looking from the outside, a simple room that you would find in any other hotel on the Citadel. Officially it was being rented by a 'Vita Sarel' while in reality it was briefly being used as a direct comm link to The Shadow Broker himself.

"I don't think he's very happy with you." The asari said from where she was standing by the closed door. Leaning on the wall with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"Is the boss ever happy about anything, Tela?" Holt laughed as he remained standing on the platform as he had been ordered. His excuse over why he still had not supplied The Shadow Broker with anything of interest would have to be answered soon.

"He would be if he got the intel he expected to get by letting you get on The Normandy." She said while sighing. "You're one of our better agents, Holt. Having to kill you for switching sides would feel like a waste."

"As I said, getting any info that wouldn't be a waste of time to present to the boss is difficult to obtain wi-"

"And as I said, you're one of our better agents. Stop bullshitting me about not being able to hack their terminals and whatever else they have on that ship." She started sounding more and more frustrated. "Damn it, you even told me they let you on a mission. There's no way they have you under constant surveillance."

"Come on now, I've even sent you pictures of the thing. Is that not good enough?"

"You sent us pictures of the food with the message 'possible idea for new poison'."

"Have you gotten shown it to the lab yet? I still have a good feeling about it."

"You sent _me_ a picture of the sleeping pod with the text 'wish you were here'." She sounded frustrated but Holt could see a tiny smile threatening to show on her lips. "Listen... Just give the boss _something_ of value. _Anything_ to keep you on that ship, and alive for that matter." Her omni-tool made a beep and the mood in the room turned even more serious than before. Guess that was the boss wanting to get question him.

"Bring him on." Holt jokingly said while shadow boxing. Tela simply sighed and a holographic form of... something showed up. Holt had spoken with The Shadow Broker before but had so far not made much progress in finding out who he really was. It was clearly a man considering the low, rumbling voice. Unless it was a very masculine woman? Had he been wrong all along?

"Name, rank and number." The shadow said in that very same low, rumbling voice. I can't be a woman, it just can't be.

"Nathan Holt, Agent, 9651029388." He stated as he felt the glare of the shadow upon him. How could he glare when the eyes didn't even show.

"Tell me, what's the reason for the lack of intel about The Normandy?" Straight to the point. Ever the business-man

"The same reason I assume you've already been told."

"So it's simply incompetence?" Ouch, straight to his pride.

"It's simply a ship filled with paranoid people."

"Give me one good reason to why I should keep you on that ship, Agent Holt." Alright, let's see if he'll get through this alive.

"Cause I'm the foot you've already got in through the door to The Normandy. Remove me and the door will be closed and locked."

"And how do I know it's still my foot?" The tone in The Shadow Brokers voice had not changed since they begun. It was quite hard on Holt's nerves. This man would probably be amazing at Texas Hold 'em.

"You question my loyalty? Put me to the test and I'll convince you I'm still working for you."

"I already have a task ready for you." He said while, what looked like, leaned back slightly. "Agent Tela will fill you in." And just like that the comm link ended. That was sudden...

"How much were you shitting yourself when he started questioning your loyalty?" Tela said from behind him. He could feel her smirking.

"I was expecting much worse than that." Holt said while running his hands down his face. "And you knew all along that he would only let me off with a warning, didn't you?" He said while sighing.

"Of course, we just wanted your reaction on being accused of it."

"For entertainment purposes?"

"Mine at least." She said while giving a full smile. Holt felt a bit strange that he was sort of a double agent without either side knowing he was one. She brought up her omni-tool again. "Here's the small task you can deal with during your shore leave. Three days, was it?"

"72 hours, yeah." Glancing down to his own beeping omni-tool. A small task involving getting information from a politician regarding some smuggling of red sand. A mundane task if Holt ever saw one. "Why not simply plant a bug in this man's office or hack his terminal?"

"Because he's very good at cleaning up after himself. We need someone to get the necessary information out of him directly."

"And you can't do this because...?"

"I'm not his type." Tela said while smirking once again. What did she mean by that. She must've noticed Holt's confused expression as she continued. "Sources say that you can usually find him in Flux. He's also quite the talkative drunk and that he's into... sturdy young men." Nope.

"Nope!"

"Yup!"

"Why not send one of the other newer Agents to do this? They could use the experience."

"You often brag to me about your looks. Time to put it to the test."

"And the way to do that is to catch the attention of some..." Holt glanced down on him omni-tool that had all the basic info about the politician in question. "62 year-old fat man with two... no wait, three chins?"

"Who knows Holt, it might be fun." She laughed while opening the door and motioning for him to get out. "See you around and work a bit harder on getting some intel on the Normandy, would you?" She asked happily while closing the door behind him. This was not going to be fun at all. Holt quickly went to work to come up with a plan that wouldn't force him to perform a lap-dance to a wrinkly old man. If he could get someone else to do the dirty work for him.

"Joker!" A brilliant idea sprung to life. Joker was perhaps not sturdy but he was young and a man. He could probably swoon the old politician enough for him to spill his secrets. Holt brought up his omni-tool to message the pilot the destination for their night out later. Tonight Holt would mix business with pleasure.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Flux was just the sort of place Shepard loved. Noisy enough to be chaotic but clean enough to be civilised. A bridge between the two worlds, so to say. You could remove the Alliance pole that was shoved up every soldier's ass in here without having to worry about being discharged the day after.

"So... those drinks only serve the purpose of lowering your reaction time, cripple your mobility and remove your common sense?" Tali asked Ashley who were sitting on either side of Shepard.

"Yep!"

"Humans willingly drink this and they do it because of the reasons I just stated?" The disbelief in Tali's voice was clear. Shepard had to agree though, it was difficult to justify drinking alcohol and yet everyone, except the turian, around the table were drinking away.

"Mostly because of the last reason." Joker answered. "We humans have been waging wars against our mental blocks for millenia. Alcohol gives us the edge in that fight."

"I... see..." Tali simply said and then muttered something about the humans strange appearance mimics their strange behavior.

"Speaking of, Joker." Shepard turned towards the other end of the table where Joker sat between Kaidan and Holt. Garrus, Liara and Wrex had been unable to join them. Garrus had some C-Sec business to deal with. Liara had stayed behind on the ship since she was still a bit exhausted. And Wrex... No idea where he was. "You've hardly touched your drink. Do you feel that your mental blocks are long gone already?"

"With my condition I can't afford to be more unsteady on my legs." Shepard kicked herself mentally for forgetting about that but Joker didn't seem to pay it any mind. "I also pray to any god listening that my mental blocks will never falter. If they do I would be without a job and also end up pissing off enough of the 'wrong' people to earn me a one-way trip to the afterlife."

"Afterlife isn't that bad, considering its location." Holt suddenly said still looking away to the other side of the bar. He had been quite unfocused throughout the evening. Maybe he didn't like the fact that Shepard had invited herself and three others without him knowing. 'Well tough luck, Holt. This is what it means to be in a team!' She thought to herself.

"Does it even have a location?" Ashley asked in a weird hopeful sort of way. It wouldn't be Shepard's first choice of vacation location. Holt turned back towards the ground team that were present.

"What? Of course it does." He said while looking at Ashley like she had grown a second head. He must've seen the other confused looks around the table and suddenly seemed to realise something. "Ohh! You mean 'afterlife' as in 'after death'."

"What did you think we were talking about?" Joker asked, taking a small sip of his drink. Shepard reminded herself to help him back to the ship later. Losing their pilot on a shore leave? THat wouldn't look good to her superiors.

"There's a club called 'Afterlife' on Omega. I assumed that was what you were talking about since talking about death while out drinking seems like an odd topic."

"You've been on Omega?" Shepard asked. She shouldn't be surprised that Holt been to such a place but still felt the need to ask. Anything to keep his attention on the table he was sitting at.

"Grew up on it." He simply said before he turned his attention somewhere else again. 'Not letting you go that easily.' Shepard thought.

"That would explain a lot." Kaidan said before Shepard could get a word in. While it wasn't what Shepard had in mind, Holt's attention did go back to them. He looked around the table, seemingly to be thinking of something.

"That's actually where I started my line of work." Shepard had expected him to respond with frustration or at least be a bit irritated over what Kaidan said. Instead it sounded like he was about to share a story. "Started out as a tunnel-rat once I was old enough to understand orders given to me and young enough to fit in all the vents they made us crawl through."

"Tunnel-rat?" Tali asked.

"Yeah. Children are often used by information brokers to work as their eyes and ears locally. On Omega we were being used quite often with how many vents or narrow passages there were."

"They use kids to spy on people?" Shepard asked with an angry voice.

"And all they had to pay us was enough food to last us until the next task."

"And the people on Omega are fine with this going on?" Tali asked, seemingly deeply interested in this story.

"Omega is a bit... difficult to explain. There's really only one rule that people follow on Omega." He clapped his hands in front of him. "Anyway! That's the trial version of my story. If you wanna hear the next chapter of my life you're gonna have to help me with something." Everyone at the table raised their eyebrows to this. Well, at least Shepard _think_ Tali did."

"And this 'something' has something to do with your profession?" Kaidan asked. Holt simply nodded and Kaidan let out a sigh and left the table. Ashley said something about keeping an eye on him and followed him out. Everyone else watched them leave and Holt simply shrugged.

"No story for them then. Shame, it's quite the entertaining tale." He turned towards the ones that were still there. "Right, this wasn't how I had planned this but we'll just have to go with it."

"Holt." Shepard said with a warning tone. "If you're thinking of doing anything illegal with my knowledge right next to me..."

"You see that man over there?" He ignored Shepard and pointed towards an older man sitting by himself in a booth further into the club. "My employer wanted me t-"

"Holt." Shepard slightly raised her voice and stared him down. He returned the stare and continued.

"Wanted me to find proof about his connections to a group that are known to be smuggling red sand into The Citadel." Wait, red sand? "Yes. Red sand." Holt said as if he had read Shepard's mind.

"You're not bullshitting me now, are you?" He responded by bringing up his omni-tool and sent her some files on the man in question. She quickly looked them over and it seemed like Holt had spoken the truth.

"So here's my new plan. The core of it is the same as my original one." He started talking as Shepard finished reading the info about the man. He seemed to be a politician who, as Holt said, was making some extra credits on the side by helping smuggling red sand into The Citadel. No hard proof of him doing it so far though. "Joker walks over there to initiate a conversation."

"What!" Joker nearly spat the last of the drink he's been working on. Shepard read the last bit of info on the politician. Apparently, he had a thing for young men. So the reason Holt had wanted to go out with Joker... "Is this why you wanted me to go out for a drink tonight? To have me be some sort of distraction?"

"I got this mission after we had made our plans." Holt quickly said before continuing. At least he had not completely used Joker for his own benefit then. "You keep him focused on you and I'll make sure the drinks keep coming. You don't have to drink as long as you make sure he does..." Shepard quietly stood up as Holt continued with explaining his plan and made her way over to the politician. He looked over to her as she approached with an uniterested look.

"Sorry girl, but I'm not interested." He said as she reached his table. She could tell that he was just like most other politicians. Personal profit before all else. She leaned forward and put on her most menacing look.

"Listen here, old man. People know all about your red sand business, _I _know about your red sand business." His eyes widened. He had probably not expected someone to simply walk up to him like this. "If you didn't already know, I'm Commander Shepard." She leaned in a bit closer for added effect. "Also, as of recently, I'm known as Spectre Shepard. I can use whatever method I wish to make you talk and I won't hesitate to use them." She could see sweat start to form just under his hairline.

"Are you threatening me?" He asked with a snarl which had little to no effect on her.

"Yes. Give me your personal omni-tool and pray that C-Sec will go easy on you." He stared right into her eyes, trying to beat her in her own game. Her emerald ones easily defeated his dark blue and he mumbled something which Shepard guessed was of no friendly nature and then handled her his omni-tool.

"Will I get a head-start?" He asked as she turned to walk away.

"It won't do you any good. She couldn't hide her grin as she made it back to the table with her crew members surrounding it. Tali even managed to look surprised even if her face was hidden beneath her mask. Joker looked entertained and relieved. Holt looked like he was at a loss for words. An expression Shepard enjoyed seeing, she realised.

"Did you just walk up and threatened him?" Tali asked as Shepard sat back down as she handed Holt the 'obtained' omni-tool.

"Yeah. You could tell all the way from here?"

"I was quite obvious, Commander." Joker happily said. "Thank you! Holt here was about to throw me to the wolf."

"All I asked was that you considered first base." Holt said as he got to work on the omni-tool.

"And all I asked was that you considered my fist to your face."

"Your bone meeting my bone. I wonder who'll come out with the least amount of fractures." Holt chuckled as Shepard's omni-tool suddenly received something. She checked to see receiving data from the omni-tool she had just given Holt. "I'll transfer over everything I find of value, Shepard. Do whatever you want with the information."

"You sure?" She asked while lifting an eyebrow at him.

"Well, you did do most of the work." He said before he started mumbling. "Even though I had a great plan and everything..."

"Your employer won't mind? You do know that I'll take this to C-Sec as soon as possible?"

"That's probably what the guy who hired my boss for this wants anyway. You would be saving him the trouble to do it." He motioned for a waitress for more drinks. "And you made my job easier as well so drinks are on me for the rest of the evening!"

"Nope! No more for me! I'm already wobbly enough as it is." Joker said while holding his hands up in front of him. Tali also looked like spending the next few hours drinking wasn't something she was looking forward to. Shepard decided to help the poor girl.

"Tali, can you make sure Joker makes it back to The Normandy with as few broken bones as possible?"

"It really is, isn't it? It really is the 'mock the cripple'-day..." Joker grumbled. Tali nodded and stood up and left the club together with Joker.

"So should I cancel the order or are you staying?" Holt suddenly asked her and it hit her that she was alone with him now. Weirdly enough though, she didn't have to think long before answering.

"Staying, you still owe me a story." She said smiling as the waitress came and resupplied them with drinks that would last for quite a while.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Explosions were all around Holt. Darkness surrounded him but a small sliver of very bright light was doing its best to occupy enough of his vision to blind him. As always when taking a bad hit during combat, he moved all his limps to make sure nothing was broken, or worse. While sluggish, his arms and legs were moving just fine. The only pain he felt was the infernal headache and a slight numb feeling on his chin.

"Shut the fuck up..." He grumbled as the explosions started fading into something else. High pitched beeps which allied themselves with the pounding already going on in his head. His headache suddenly felt familiar and he realised what situation he was in. 'A fucking hangover...' Holt thought as he blocked his eyes with his hand. That beeping was recognised as an alarm clock but it sounded nothing like the his alarm back in his safe house on the Citadel nor the one in the sleeping pod on The Normandy.

"Ugh..." A voice moaned behind him. A very feminine voice. He must have gotten lucky last night then. Whoever the woman was she had a terrible bed though, felt like he was on the floor. As Holt opened his eyes he realised that he _was_ on a floor. He glanced around as much as his headache and the blinding light allowed him. The room looked familiar... "Never drinking again..." The woman moaned again as he heard her fumbling to shut the alarm off. Holt finally realised who it was.

"Mornin' Shepard." He hoarsely said, hoping to get an entertaining reaction from her. Looking over his shoulder while on the floor he could see boots on the end of the bed being perfectly still. He could just about hear Shepard's brain trying to figure out what was going on.

"Holt?" She asked uncertainly. "Don't tell me we..."

"We're both dressed and I'm the floor. I highly doubt it." He groaned as he used his arms to get up. His chin was very sore now that he'd started moving around a bit.

"... I need water..." Shepard said as she got out of the bed and went into the bathroom. Her fiery hair was a mess which almost made it look like it was on fire. Judging by the sound of her voice it seemed her throat was as well. Holt rolled his head around his shoulders. Sleeping on floor was something he tended to avoid if possible, he'd slept this way more than enough during his early years. Shepard returned from the bathroom and sat down at the edge of the bed, looking slightly freshened up. "We need a plan." She sighed.

"For?..." There were a lot of things they needed plans for. How to find Saren, how to catch Saren, how to defeat Saren etc etc.

"It's still early so there shouldn't be that many crew members up yet. Most of them are on shore leave anyway."

"Make some sense, Shepard."

"What do you think would happen if we both walked out from here together in the morning?"

"We would be able to have some breakfast?"

"They would think we spent the night together?"

"Just tell them to watch the security vids."

"The security cameras in the captain's cabin are offline during the night."

"But not in the morning, Commander." Jokers voice was suddenly heard over the comm system. Shepard put her hands over her face and looked beaten.

"Joker..." She said with a muffled voice.

"Relax Commander, You probably don't remember but I was there when you both fell asleep. I got the security vids of the two of you stumbling onto the ship at around 4am."

"Three hour sleep would explain why I feel like shit..." Shepard grumbled.

"You wanna see the vids? They're quite entertaining." Shepard was about to decline but Holt was already moving towards the door. He couldn't remember much about last night other than them starting some form of drinking game.

"Holt!" Shepard yelled as she jumped off the bed and hurried after him. "You can't just walk out like nothi-..." She was cut off as they were met with several stares from the crew member currently having breakfast in the mess hall. Alenko's face was twisted into some sort of mix between surprise and anger. Holt gave them all a small nod and walked straight for the stairs. He could feel Shepard's blush from where she was following him.

"See? Wasn't that bad." He said as they kept climbing the stairs.

"_Not bad_? Now I'll have to endure all the questionings that'll happen in the next few days..." She sounded pissed off.

"Or just forward them the security vids."

"I'll wait and see them myself before I make that decision..." Holt let out a laugh which earned him a spike of pain in his head. What had they been drinking and in what amounts?

"What's the last thing you remember of last night?" He asked as they passed the CIC. The ones up here didn't stare at them as much as the ones in the mess hall.

"Some sort of drinking game." She answered as she walked up next to him. Holt guessed that she didn't like being led. "Oh! And you avoiding telling the story you owe me!"

"I probably told you the story sometime later last night."

"Which I can't remember. You still owe me that story." They reached the cockpit where Joker turned around with his chair with a big grin on his face as they arrived. "Wipe that off your face, Joker." Shepard said.

"Sorry Commander. I find it difficult to take anything you say seriously now after last night." Holt heard Shepard groan, muttering something about having to kiss a lot of ass to keep her position as a Commander. "You dropped this last night, by the way." Joker said as he handed Shepard a napkin. Holt glanced down on it and saw that it was full of poorly written contact details.

"What's this?" Shepard asked with narrowed eyes.

"From what I could understand of your drunken ramblings, I think it's contact details of people you met at the club." Shepard's shoulders went stiff. Holt had to suppress a laughter. "You had one too, Holt." Holt quickly checked his pockets and found the napkin in question. Lots of contact details on this one as well. "You two asked me to count who got the most since the numbers and letters were, and I quote, 'moving too fast'."

"So who won?" Holt asked.

"Well, you had the most." Holt quickly threw his arms up in the air and faced Shepard. "But the difference was only one number and if you look through your list you'll see why you're gonna think it's a hollow victory." Holt quickly brought his arms down as he had a very bad feeling about this all of a sudden. The smirk on Joker's face told him that he wasn't gonna enjoy this. Shepard leaned over to read through the list as well.

"Martin?..." Shepard asked once she saw that name on the list. She clearly thought the name was familiar. Holt did as well but couldn't place it anywhere.

"Martin!" Joker said while still keeping that smirk on his face. It suddenly hit him.

"Martin..."

"The one you tried to hook up with me!" Joker yelled as he started laughing. The politician The Shadow Broker wanted dirt on had been the difference maker in the competition between Holt and Shepard.

"The politician?" Shepard asked as she started laughing uncontrollably. Holt suddenly felt that a shower was in place and considered leaving before he remembered that the vids could hold something that would shut Shepard up.

"The vids, Joker." He said with a menacing glare and a threatening voice. The pilot thankfully cooperated and brought it up on a monitor next to them.

"This is where you two drunks come stumbling through the airlock, supporting each other and still manage to topple over twice." The vid showed the two of them giggling like crazy as they sat down in the airlock with their backs against the wall.

"We almost look like Joker does when he walks." Holt said as Joker fast-forwarded through, what looked like, Shepard and him singing.

"'Mock the cripple'day is over." Joker said while turning around. "Today is 'Mock your superior officer'-day." The vid now showed the two of them waking Joker up from where he was sitting right now. Him sleeping up here wasn't surprising at all. "Here you forced me to lead you to your quarters."

"Both of us?" Shepard asked.

"Holt said something about your couch being more comfortable than the sleeping pods and Shepard was squealing about a slumber party." Joker answered as they were watching themselves walking down the stairs which looked like it took a lot of effort and concentration. Shepard was visually red with shame right now. Lots of material to use against her here to make sure that _Martin _would be forgotten.

"What happened in Shepard's room?" Holt asked, wanting answers to why his chin hurt.

"Shepard jumped straight into the bed and you tripped over your own foot." Not the answer Holt was hoping for. "I tried to get you up from the floor but you said that the floor was more comfortable than the sleeping pods as well." Shepard looked ready to burst out laughing again.

"So that's why your chin is all bruised?" She asked with a smirk.

"I suppose there's no way that we can say I got it during a fight with two krogans?"

""Nope."" They both said.

"One krogan?"

"So that's all that happened?" Shepard turned towards Joker for confirmation.

"All I saw at least. Once the security camera went online again you were both in the same places as you had been when I left." Shepard let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, Good to know." She said as she turned to walk away.

"The idea of being with me is that revolting to you, Shepard?" Holt asked with a grin. Expecting her to confirm it and storm off or turn around and glare him down.

"The idea of not having any footage of it afterwards annoys me." She said while winking over her shoulder. Holt could do nothing but stare after her. He turned towards Joker once she was out of eyesight.

"She didn't hit her head or anything last night?" He asked to which the pilot simply shook his head. "Still drunk? Drugged?"

"Maybe she simply likes competing with you."

"Competing in _what_ exactly?" Holt asked while rubbing his chin. The thing was still hurting as hell. He would have to go to the doctor to see if nothing was fractured.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

_A/N - Another chapter where nothing really happens, sorry. Been so gosh darn (excuse my language) busy that I've had almost no time to write. I'm also planning to revisit the older chapters to 'clean' them up a bit and would very much welcome any help in doing so. If you're interested just send me a PM. Also while I'm at it, thanks to everyone who's followed, favorited and/or reviewed this story. I would come to your house and shake your hand but finding out where you live would be a bit creepy on my part.  
_

* * *

Garrus was looking down at Shepard with big, teary puppy eyes. Even if she had wanted She just simply couldn't deny him of his desires at this moment.

"Go ahead." She said in a low tone.

"Thank you Shepard." He almost yelled out and was out of the room before anything else could be said.

"Mind filling me in?" Anderson said from behind his desk with a brow raised high.

"Tech nerd. He's just happy to hear that we got a new mako." Shepard shrugged. "Now, I very much doubt you wanted me to come to your office just to tell us that our new mako had arrived."

"You would be correct. I wanted to tell you something personally with no chance of anyone... 'listening' in..." He said while throwing a glance towards Liara who had joined Shepard and Garrus in coming to Anderson's office.

"Liara can be trusted." Shepard declared while crossing her arms. There would be no further discussions on her crew members loyalties. She'd had enough Alliance officers sending her messages about all the non-human crew members being a possible threat to Alliance intel.

"Alright Shepard." Anderson leaned back in his chair. "Whoever you put your trust in is your business and I respect your judgement." Shepard could swear there was a 'but' in there somewhere but she decided to ignore it and let Anderson continue. You've ever heard of Zhu's Hope?

"It rings a bell or two."

"It's located on the world of Feros, Theseus System. The planet are filled with old Prothean ruins." Shepard could feel Liara growing more interested by the second. "Colonists built Zhu's Hope on top of those very ruins."

"But now something's happened?" She could guess that Saren had something to do with it. Anderson wouldn't have bothered contacting her about it otherwise.

"It hasn't gone dark or anything like that... Something about it just feels... off."

"Off?"

"Off. The colony mainly serves as a port for ExoGeni Corporation who are conducting some research about something over there."

"_Something_?"

"Is the word I chose to use since we have no idea what it is they're doing there."

"Sounds... ominous."

"Indeed, which is why I want you and your team to investigate the place. My gut is telling me Saren is behind... something."

"Talk about going in blind." Shepard joked while turning towards the door. Motioning for Liara to follow. "We'll look into it, Anderson."

"Thank you Shepard. Feels good to know that you becoming a Spectre didn't make you forget about The Alliance." Anderson said as he went back to working on his terminal. Shepard felt a bit sorry for the man, being stuck in his office as he was.

"So this 'Zhu's Hope' is our next destination?" Liara asked.

"Looks like it." Holt suddenly materialized next to them causing both the women to jump in shock. "Good thing too, this shore leave was starting to get dragged out."

"Damn it, Holt." Shepard said while trying to catch her breath. "How long have you been here?"

"Saw you two walk towards this place together with Garrus earlier. Thought I would follow and see what you guys were up to."

"And you weren't in Anderson's office for any other reason?" Shepard asked. Holt started overacting being nervous and threw his arms up in the air.

"Alright, fine! Fine! You got me. I was there to find out the color of his underwear. Someone was willing to cough up a _lot_ of credits to find that out." Shepard simply sighed as she resumed walking towards the port where The Normandy was docked.

"Let me ask you something, Holt." She heard the man in question and the asari following her close by.

"They were dark-blueish." Shepard couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"Do you know anything of where we're going?"

"I've heard of the ExoGeni Corporation but I'm afraid I know nothing of their facilities on Feros." He answered after thinking about it for a moment. "Want me to try and dig up some info about the place?" Shepard was a bit surprised that he had offered. After their little... adventure two nights ago she'd found it a lot easier to talk to the man. He had been teling her some of the dirty secrets certain ambassadors or politicians were carrying. She was loving every tiny bit of info he was giving her.

"Please, if you could."

"Uhm, how exactly does your line of work... well, work?" Liara asked Holt.

"A bit curious, are we? You're gonna have to be more specific in your question though." Shepard listened with extra care now. She was also curious.

"Like, how many information brokers do you work for and do you know who the other agents working for that broker are?"

"Right now. I'm not working _for_ anyone. I worked _with _one the other day. If it's the same information broker every time? Who knows, they like to keep themselves as much as a secret as possible."

"And you never work with other agents?" Liara was strangely interested in this.

"Not that I know of, no."

"Didn't you mention once that you've worked in a group before?" Shepard asked, recalling their conversation after Therum.

"Who knows if they were agents or not." Holt shrugged as they entered the elevator that would take them to the docking area. Thank god they had a conversation going this time. Next to Saren, silent elevator rides were the thing Shepard hated the most.

"And what kind of missions do you get to do normally?" Liara asked as the elevator started moving.

"Usually I get the type of mission that I got for Eden Prime." Holt answered while nodding towards Shepard. "Somewhat-remote planets where something's happening that the boss wants to know exactly what's happening."

"So no assassination jobs?" Shepard asked to which Holt simply shook his head. "Then what's up with your skills and weapons?"

"Need to be able to defend myself, of course. If I infiltrate a merc base somewhere I'm not going in with my pretty face and words alone."

"And where did you learn those skills?" Shepard asked, intent on finding out as much as possible about Holy while she had the chance.

"Well, I did quite well for myself as a tunnel rat back on Omega. Tunnel rat being sort of like a younger information broker agent." He explained to Liara. "After a couple of years, I got scouted by the most important person on Omega who saw some kind of potential in me."

"Scouted?" Liara asked.

"Good thing about being a good information broker agent. If you're good there are very few gunning for your head and more gunning for your services."

"Who was this important person that recruited you" Shepard asked as the elevator reached its destination.

"An asari named Aria T'Loak." Shepard had never heard of her. But then again Shepard had very little to do with Omega to begin with.

"And she's like the 'boss' of Omega?" She asked to which Holt simply laughed.

"She _is_ Omega!" He loudly declared as they walked towards The Normandy.

"Are you still working for this Aria?" Liara asked.

"Nah, she's a good girl though, need to visit her sometime."

"So how did you start working for your current employer?" Shepard asked as they reached.

"That's quite a long story and we have a rogue Spectre to hunt down. You got your curiosity sated, Liara?"

"I think so. Thank you, Holt." The asari said as she went up the ramp into the Normandy. Shepard could see the new mako up there and Garrus already drooling all over it. Holt came up beside her and let out a small chuckle.

"You got your curiosity sated as well, Shepard?" He asked her.

"Almost..." She said while faking to be deep in thought. "Was Anderson's underwear really 'dark-blueish'?"

"Who knows." He shrugged. "It's my underwear that's dark-bluish if you wanna know." He said while smirking towards her. She couldn't help but smirk back.

"Not sure how that information will be of any use, but thank you anyway."

"No problem. While we're on that subject maybe you can tell me the color of your unde-" Shepard didn't hear him finish that sentence as she was too busy laughing and walking up the ramp towards The Normandy. Looking back on it, this shore leave had been one of her most memorable so far, much thanks to the man behind her. She thanked her gut for making the right decision of bringing him along.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

_A/N - The last few days have been the most stressful days in recent memory for me. Didn't want to rush this chapter but it sort of happened anyway. Enough venting though, enjoy another filler chapter (although not in terms of character development) and thank you for following/favoriting and all the feedback. That people are reading, and hopefully likes, your work makes me glad to do it.  
_

* * *

"Isn't that mako new? Like, just out of the factory?" Holt asked Garrus who was already underneath the vehicle, tinkering away at it. They had left The Citadel only an hour earlier and the turian had been here since then.

"Holt?" Garrus asked, probably having a hard time figuring out who it was that was talking to him. Holt thought all turians sounded the same and it was probably the same for them with humans.

"No, it's Shepard." Holt attempted to sound as much as the Commander as possible. While he's been forced to take other identities before they had never been female. Let's see how it goes.

"Oh! Sorry Shepard. You humans all sound the same and with how muffled your voice was from unde-..." Garrus stopped talking once he rolled out enough to see who he was talking to. "Holt..."

"Garrus." Holt couldn't help but flash a big grin. Sighing, the turian went back to what he was doing.

"Was there something you wanted?" Grumpy asked.

"Was just wondering what you could possibly do to improve on that since it's already as high-tech you can get?" Holt could swear he heard a small gasp escape from underneath the mako.

"_High-tech_!? _This_!?" He rolled out again to look Holt in the eyes. "I don't know why but you humans like to put a limit on everything simple because 'health and safety regulations'." Garrus said while making quotation marks with his fingers. At least, Holt think it was quotations marks.

"I thought the whole point of a mako was to get people from point A to point B while keeping all their limbs attached to where they should be?"

"That's like saying that you don't need to aim your gun since your only goal is to fire the weapon." Garrus stood up and looked down on Holt. Was he seriously gonna start a fight over a comment about the mako? "What you need to have in order to bring out the full potential of a weapon is aim..." He turned around with a dramatic swing to drool over the mako. "And to bring out the full potential of this beauty, you need speed and firepower."

"It already has firepower." Kaidan was suddenly next to them, voicing his opinion on the matter. Garrus turned towards him next, his eyes gleaming.

"_More_ firepower!"

"A 155mm mass accelerator cannon isn't enough?" Kaidan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How about..." Holt said and waited until he had the attention of the others. "_Two_ 155mm mass accelerator cannons?..." They both stared at him for a few moments and then turned to each other.

"I've thought of that already." Garrus said. "It would never work with the limited space." Holt could swear that the turian looked depressed.

"Then let's think of something else." Holt said as he started walking around the mako, the other human and turian following him. "If the limited space is our main concern we need to find a way around that first."

"We could put some smaller machine guns on the sides but that would weaken the hull on both sides."

"Which would turn the mako into swiss-cheese." Holt added. Garrus looked confused at him. "It's a type of cheese with holes in it." The confused look remained. "Cheese is something humans eat."

"Why would you eat holes?" Garrus asked, clearly having the wrong picture of a cheese in his head. "Anyway, I guess that eliminates having any kind of weapon on the side..." They all went quiet trying to figure out how to add more firepower without losing protection.

"Something on top of the turret?" Kaidan suggested.

"Will make the 155mm too unstable." And Garrus shot it down. They went back to thinking of other possible ideas. Wrex suddenly joined their little brainstorming group.

"On Edolus, I simply shot at the Thresher Maw from the open door. Maybe put something back there?" They all stared at the krogan.

"Might work when there's only one enemy who's attack can wipe you out in one go anyway." Kaidan said, not willing to completely shot down the krogan's suggestion.

"Against two or more firearms though..." Garrus added.

"I didn't steal your kill." Holt thought it was good to repeat that one more time considering how angry the krogan looked. To be fair he always looked pissed off but still. Wrex just grunted, whatever that meant.

"Some kind of gun up front then?" Kaidan threw another suggestion in there as Wrex now also joined them in trying to figure out where you could put more guns on the mako.

"Will greatly lower its ability to move over certain terrain. I'm not willing to sacrifice too much mobility." And once again, Garrus shot the suggestion down.

"How about we focus on what we can improve at the moment?" Holt suggested.

"The hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell." Kaidan said and went to work on it.

"Calibrating the turret might also be a good idea." Holt decided to add as an idea. He had realised this was a great way to win the hearts and minds of Garrus and Kaidan. He wasn't sure what Wrex was doing here though.

"I'll take care of that." Garrus quickly offered. "We might need to take a look at the suspension while we're at it."

"I'll take care of that." Wrex surprisingly said. Leaving Holt alone with Garrus as the others went to work on the mako.

"I... might've been wrong." Garrus said after a few silent moments.

"About?"

"About the reason to why you're here."

"Why did you think I was here?" Holt had no expected Garrus to change his mind about him already. This mako must mean a lot to the turian.

"I thought you were here on someone's order. But after speaking with you and how you helped Shepard down on Therum... It just wouldn't be fair to keep treating you the way I have been." Holt felt glad that the turian trusted him but at the same time felt worse over lying to his face.

"Don't worry about it, Garrus. I understand why you felt hesitant to trust me."

"Well, after Shepard helped you out with one of your missions from that information broker boss of yours... If she puts that much trust in you then I really have no reason to not do the same." He reached out his hand for a handshake. "No hard feelings?" Holt quickly grasped the turians hand and flashed him an honest smile.

"None whatsoever."

"Good! Good... Now, if you don't mind?..." He said while throwing a glance to the mako. Eager to get to work.

"Go ahead, I need to go and check your personal files anyway." Holt said while trying to keep an even face. "Boss paying me lots of credits to find out your favourite band."

"I don't listen to music." Garrus said with what Holt think was a smile before he went into the mako. Holt stood there for a few moments thinking about his current situation. Just about everyone on the ground team trusted him now. Kaidan and Ashley were still question marks. Garrus now trusted him, same with Liara. Tali was difficult to read but didn't seem to openly hate him. And Wrex was never gonna be best buds with him anyway.

"Do I dare ask what they're doing?" Shepard's voice suddenly asked him from his side. Shepard was the odd one in the group. Holt wanted everyone's trust in order to complete his mission but he wanted Shepard's trust for more than that. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he cared about The Shadow Broker's mission anymore. This deal with Saren was more serious than he'd first believed after everything Shepard had showed and told him.

"They're 'improving' the mako." Holt responded as he noticed that he was staying to long in his thoughts. He could feel Shepard's green eyes drill into him.

"Should I be worried?"

"Nah, you could probably drive it without any wheels anyway."

"Flatterer." Shepard giggled and Holt noticed how much he liked hearing that noise. "Why are you not with them?" She asked, almost sounding like a concerned mom. Though Holt had never had one so that was just a guess.

"They took all the fun jobs." Holt said as he faced Shepard with the saddest look he could bring out. Shepard simply smiled in response.

"Well, you can come with me then to help me plot our course to Feros."

"Sounds like a date." Holt said as he motioned for Shepard to lead the way.

"I'll even treat you to a drink in the mess hall afterwards." She said with another one of those bright smiles as she started heading towards the elevator.

"Oh, I don't know. I know what happens when you get drunk." Holt responded which earned him another one of Shepard's laughs. Yeah, he definitely liked that sound.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

_A/N - Praise be to Thor, it's the much-needed weekend! Just wanted to say that I'm still (I think I've mentioned it before) looking for a beta reader. As I said I'll try and revisit earlier chapters and correct the more obvious errors myself but would very much like the input from someone whose native language is English (or someone who's just very fluent in it). Thanks once again for all the reviews and stuff._

* * *

Shepard was standing behind the pilot's chair on The Normandy. She'd watched Joker trying to get contact with... well anything, for the last couple of minutes with no success. Anderson was right, something was wrong down on the planet.

"ETA, Joker?" She asked as he muttered in frustration over being ignored by the radio.

"Just a couple of minutes, Commander." He said as he spun around with his chair to face her. "I would tell you that getting armed and ready is a good plan but I see you're way ahead of me." He joked as he saw that Shepard was already wearing her armor together with a wide array of weapons. "I thought we were just gonna investigate Zhu's Hope, not go to war with them?"

"There's a possibility that Saren is down there. And as you know, Saren has a lot of hostile geth friends."

"Doesn't sound like you're complaining about it though."

"I'm not." She said with a smirk. "Shore leave was fun and refreshing but I'm aching to see some action again."

"At least the stuff you remember from the shore leave, you mean?" He laughed to which Shepard shot a glare at him. "Holt was looking for you earlier, by the way. Said something about being denied access to the info about ExoGeni Corporation."

"I see, bummer." Shepard started turning around to head to the cargo hold to prepare to leave the ship. "Hopefully we won't need your piloting skills as much as we needed them on Therum."

"Yeah, exactly. God forbid me actually having to do anything." Joker rolled his eyes and spun his chair back. Shepard through the CIC with a smile on her face. The team was fresh from shore leave. They were maybe about to see some action and her gut was telling her that they would be one step closer to stopping Saren after this mission. Life was good at the moment. She stepped into the elevator and got it descending towards the cargo hold. She leaned towards the wall and folded her arms, wondering if they should install some sort of entertainment system in here.

"Does this still freak you out?" A voice suddenly said right next to her, causing her to yelp and fly into a combat-ready stance. It only took a split second for her to realise what was going on though.

"Damn it, Holt. That cloaking feature is going down the toilet soon." She said while catching her breath. The man next to her simply flashed her a smile and couldn't help but return it with one as well.

"Couldn't get any info about ExoGeni, by the way. Sorry." He apologised to which Shepard waved him off.

"No need to apologise. Were you waiting in the elevator for a chance to scare me?"

"Been in here for the last five hours, waiting for you to be alone... Wow, that sounded a lot less dirty in my mind." Shepard couldn't stop herself laughing at that.

"Anyway, before you ask. I'll have everyone on the ground team head down there." She said as she took on a more serious tone. "We'll investigate Zhu's Hope first and then move towards ExoGeni. My gut is telling me that they've got something to do with the colony going dark."

"Your gut tells you a lot of things, doesn't it?" He asked as the elevator reached the cargo hold. She started walking out with Holt next to her.

"Without it you probably wouldn't be here." She jokingly said.

"Well, send my thanks to your gut for its trust then."

"It's right here, you can thank it yourself."

"Going down on my knees and start talking to your midsection might give the others the wrong idea." Shepard started laughing again and noticed that the rest of the ground team was already down here. She motioned for them all to group up.

"Listen up everyone!" She waited a moment to make sure they were all paying attention, which they were. 'Easily the best team I've had the pleasure of leading.' She thought. "We'll all be heading down to Zhu's Hope to investigate why they're not responding to any incoming calls."

"Are we expecting any resistance?" Kaidan asked.

"No, exactly like no resistance was expected down on Therum. Which is why we're heading down there prepared for the worst." She heard a growl of approval from what she guessed must have been Wrex.

"You believe Saren is down there?" Garrus asked and everyone else eyed her curiously, waiting for her answer.

"Maybe not personally but I'm willing to bet my first-born that we're gonna find a geth or two." The ground team looked at each other, seemingly deep in thought.

"I've a hard time picturing Shepard as a mother." Garrus said.

"Try imagining her dropping off her kids at school dressed in full combat armor." Holt joined in. "The other kids would have nightmares about makos falling from the sky."

"I see what you mean." Ashley said and Shepard couldn't believe this conversation was happening.

"For how long are human women fertile?" Wrex asked without a hint of embarrassment.

"Until they're around 45-50 years old I guess." Holt answered, he too without a hint of embarrassment.

"How old is Shepard? I can't really tell with humans." Tali joined in and they all turned their faces back towards Shepard. She could feel her cheeks blushing.

"40?" Garrus guessed and Shepard felt the need to slap him.

"20?" Holt guessed and Shepard felt the need to kiss him.

"70?" Liara, surprisingly, guessed and Shepard didn't know exactly how to react to that.

"I'll tell you my age once we complete our mission. How does that sound?" They all thought that was a good plan and dispersed to get their armor and weapons ready. Holt remained next to her though since he was already prepared. Shepard eyed his smug grin curiously.

"What?" He asked.

"You already know my age, I'm guessing?"

"Yep. 29 years old, 30 in two months."

"And still you 'guessed' 20?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Would've been my guess if I didn't know your age." He said with a shrug.

"Flatterer." She said with a grin. "What's your age then?" She asked without thinking.

"I'll tell you my age once we complete this mission. How does that sound?" He said with a grin.

"And how will I know you're telling the truth?" She asked jokingly.

"Just listen to your gut. It'll know if I'm lying." He said with a smile.

"Well, I guess it has never let me down before." She said while looking up at Holt. She was glad she had listened to her gut when her mind had been hesitant in letting him join the team. If only she could get rid of that damn cloak.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

"Seems like Shepard made the right choice in bringing everyone down here." Ashley told Holt as they were taking cover behind a short wall. The geth had almost literally started raining down upon them as they got to the port. The Normandy had to leave them down here on their own to avoid being shot down.

"I'm just glad that I brought my rocket launcher this time." Holt told her as he tried to get a look over the wall but several shots kept him down. "But I'm pissed off that I'm not getting a chance to use it!" He yelled at the geth.

"Are you guys alright up over there!?" Shepard's voice sounded over the comm. Holt and Ashley had gotten quite cut off from the rest of the team it seems.

"We're fine for now but the geth got us pinned down. Any chance of getting covering fire?" Ashley responded.

"We're trying but their numbers make it difficult to- Damn it!" Shepard got cut off by an exploding tank nearby.

"Sorry!" Tali quickly apologised.

"Just stay put Holt and Ash. We'll open up the left flank!" She said and Holt saw her together with Liara and Kaidan move forward as best as they could. It was still impossible for Holt and Ashley to move though.

"Can't you just cloak or something?" Ashley asked as she turned her attention back to Holt. "Cloak and run up to disable them or some shit?"

"Cloak makes me invisible, not invincible."

"That's what your shield is for, isn't it?" Holt answered that by picking up a metal plate that had been blown off from some container earlier and held it over the cover for a few moments. When he brought it back down it was just about completely shredded. "Fair enough."

"Don't know why you're so eager to get back out there. We got six others out there dealing with the situation as we speak."

"I don't like sitting on my ass while other people are risking their lives!" Looked like Holt had struck a nerve or something. She took a deep sigh before continuing. "On Eden Prime I lost my whole squad because of these fuckers." She said while nodding back towards the geth. "Now I'm just sitting behind cover and waiting for..." Was all she managed to say before she struck the wall in anger.

"Alright then, let's see if we can contribute." Holt said as he brought out a flash grenade. Ashley eyed him curiously. "We got four of 'those fuckers' to our current left. I'll flash them and that should buy me enough time to aim a EMP charge in their... faces?" He said while preparing his omni-tool.

"And then we give them a taste of their own medicine." Ashley finished, nodding at Holt to begin.

"Just remember to watch your shields. We're probably gonna be under fire from the other 350 degrees we're not attacking." He said with a smirk.

"Got it, let's end these fuckers." She said, eager to get it started. Holt armed the grenade and throw it over the wall and brought his omni-tool up. As soon as the bang was heard he rose up from behind the cover and shot the EMP charge in the direction where five geth were now standing. Their numbers really were increasing by the minute.

"Go!" He yelled at Ashley and she followed him up from cover, rifle soon shooting towards the stunned geth. The two of them were getting shot from other locations but the shields were able to hold off this amount of pressure for a while at least. As soon as the geth were down they ducked back into cover, waiting for the shields to recharge.

"Thank you." She suddenly said while checking the other side for any hostiles.

"For?"

"For giving me a chance to get back at these fuckers." She said while turning back towards him.

"Oh, I have a feeling you'll have plenty of opportunities to deal some damage to them down here." He laughed before they were interrupted by Shepard over the comm.

"Holt and Ashley, are you two okay?" She asked with ragged breaths. Seems like they had seen more action than Ashley and him.

"We're okay. Would be super if you could take care of the last group shooting at us though." Holt answered. "They got high-ground and unlimited ammo. Add that to the fact that they have no need for food, water, bathroom breaks... Well, you get the idea."

"A simple 'help please' would be enough, Holt." Shepard sighed but he could tell that she was doing it was a smile.

"You and skipper seems to get along well lately." Ashley after a few silent moments. Well, silent if you don't count the constant barrage of geth fire but that was mostly background noise nowadays.

"Yeah, she's a fun one to be around." Holt quickly answered but could guess that this was turning into an interrogation. Ashley looked at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Are you honestly following her because of Saren alone?"

"You make it sound like it's not a valid reason. I would've thought the fate of the world was important."

"I'm interested in the reason to _why _you want to help save the world." A loud explosion followed by a manic krogan laugh was heard. Wrex seemed to be having fun. As the sound of gunfire stopped the two of them could finally get out of cover for the first time in what felt like forever. "The aliens on the team all have their reasons for why they wanna go after Saren."

"Wrex?" Holt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He's a krogan, they don't need a reason to heading into a fight." She said with a bit of venom in her voice.

"Fair enough. And the reason for you Alliance soldiers?"

"I want to get revenge for my squad..." She quickly answered as they walked towards the rest of the group. Shepard was yelling at Wrex about how explosions near squad members are bad. "Kaidan I think just wants to follow Shepard." She said in a lower tone now that they were within hearing range of the others. "And Shepard just seems to be the kind of person that's meant to be the hero of a story. The good against the evil." Holt nodded in understanding. From the very first time he had met Shepard back on Eden Prime he had felt this aura around her. Something about her just made people follow her.

"I know what you mean." He whispered back. "And that's the very reason to why I'm following her. I don't know what kind of future I'm building for myself but I have a feeling it'll be a better one than if I chose to go against her." Ashley smirked back.

"And it has nothing to do with credits?" She asked with a hint of humor in her eyes.

"I have this great plan to be the one to take down Saren by myself at the end of all this." Holt said while trying to paint a picture for her. "He and me all alone at the top of he Citadel. Every human, asari, turian, salarian, krogan, quarian, drell, elcor, hanar, volus, batarian and vorcha being glued in front of their televisions, watching the fight. No guns or armor, just four fists hitting the sweat soaked faces of each other."

"What the hell are you going on about?" Kaidan asked as they had now reached the rest of the group. Holt ignored him and continued.

"The fight will last for hours and no one will be able to predict the outcome. That's when I shout out some sort of battle cry, which I haven't decided on yet, and charge him off the top of the Citadel Tower. The gasps of everyone around the galaxies can be heard as they see their hero fall down to certain death together with the bad guy." They were all actually listening to his ramblings.

"What happens after that?" Tali asked, completely sold on the story.

"You see, that's where my plan comes together. I'll make sure to fall into water or something and quickly go into hiding. After a couple of months I'll start spreading rumors about my survival. Then when the story has enough hype I'll come out of hiding and sell the interview rights to every single tv-station around the worlds." The rest of the ground team were all standing there being stunned silenced.

"You almost made that sound believable." Shepard chuckled.

"Up until the point where you sacrifice yourself." Kaidan added.

"You think I'm gonna let you steal Saren's death from me?" Wrex asked as they started moving after Shepard as she made her way towards Zhu's Hope.

"You got the thresher maw, Saren's mine."

"Why can't you both take down Saren?" Liara asked.

""That's just stupid."" Holt and the krogan answered at the same time.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

_A/N - Really sorry about the massive delay. Had some major technical difficulties (computer almost burned up). Tried writing on my mobile but that was like writing on a toaster. But got a new computer now and hopefully the chapters will come out more frequently from now on. I have pretty much the whole Mass Effect 1 part of the story done in my head by now so it shouldn't be too difficult to write. I will continue this through the two other games as well considering how nice of a response this story has been given. Thank you all for the reviews/follows/etc etc and sorry again for being so inconsistent with the updates.  
_

* * *

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Same here, Holt."

"I mean that I have a _really _bad feeling about this, Shepard."

"Good job jinxing us there." Ashley chuckled.

"You sure you wanna split the team up, Shepard?" Garrus asked as they were walking towards the rest of the team. The people at Zhu's Hope turned out to be... strange.

"Yeah, who will be forced to keep an eye on these nut jobs?" Shepard gave Holt a warning look. Even though his choice of words were not far from what she would've used they were still more than rude.

"There must be a reason to why they're acting like... I don't know, like they're puppets. The team who remains will investigate while my team visits ExoGeni for answers to why Saren is interested in this place.

"Who stays?" Kaidan asked as he took a look around. The people who lived here gave them a wide berth as they made their way through the colony.

"You'll be in charge." Shepard answered and thought for a moment if she was about to make the correct decision. "Keep Holt, Wrex and Liara to help you keep an eye on the colonists."

"You sure that's a good idea, Shepard?" He quickly asked while throwing a glance towards Holt. Before Shepard had a chance to answer, the man in question was already on it.

"Shepard probably just wants us to get along." Holt said with a cheery tone. "We can play 20 questions in order to get to know one another better. I'll start, who put that iron pipe up your ass?" Holt asked with a smirk. Sighing, Shepard turned towards the remaining members of the ground team who they now had reached.

"Can I trust you to deal with these two while I'm gone, Wrex?" She asked, motioning towards the two human males.

"I'll make sure they sort out their problems with their fists rather than with their words, don't you worry, Shepard."

"Can I trust you to keep them in check while I'm gone, Liara?" She immediately asked the asari.

"I- I'll do what I can, Shepard." Liara nervously answered.

"We'll contact you if we're in need of backup." Shepard said to Kaidan and ignored Holt's correction of '_when_ in need of backup'.

"Roger that, Commander." The lieutenant said with a salute and Shepard motioned for the rest of her squad to follow her. ExoGeni wasn't that far away but considering the geth being here they would delay the journey by quite a bit. That's if they don't launch a full-out attack on Zhu's Hope. But what is Saren doing here to begin with? Shepard hoped that ExoGeni would have the answer to that.

"I sure am glad I don't have to stay around this place any longer..." Garrus whispered to Shepard as they were making their way out of the colony.

"What do you think has happened to them?" Tali joined in, keeping her voice low as well so that the colonists wouldn't hear them.

"It's weird. They're not acting like mindless drones and the few I spoke to almost acted... 'normal'." Shepard said, more to herself than anyone else.

"Brainwashed maybe?" Ashley suggested.

"I will go with Holt's choice of words and call them nut jobs. I'll be the first to admit that I don't understand much about you humans but even I could tell that those people back there were... different."

"I'm not worried. If the colonists snaps then they'll be up against Kaidan, an Alliance lieutenant and biotic. Holt, a guy who's combat skills rival the best of Alliance from what I've seen. Liara, another biotic. And lastly, Wrex. A fucking krogan battlemaster." Ashley said in a normal tone now that they had left the colony.

"Good points, shouldn't we be worried about ourselves, Shepard?" The turian chuckled. "I mean, you did leave all the biotics behind."

"Doubting your own skills, are you Garrus?" Shepard smirked. Before he could answered Shepard felt a familiar tingling sensation in the back of her head and shouted out on pure reflex. "Take cover!" She screamed and the others didn't waste any time questioning her and just as they jumped behind the nearest wall they could find, bullets started raining down upon them.

"Geth _this _close to the colony!?" Ashley yelled from her cover so that she would be heard over the sound of gunfire.

"Were they about to attack the colonists?" Tali asked, hands working away on her omni-tool. Probably preparing some sort of hacking program against the geth, Shepard didn't exactly know.

"Their current positions suggest that they were waiting for us." Garrus said as he peeked around the corner. His head darted back behind the wall shortly after as bullets started flying by. "If anything they are making sure the colonists stay at the colony."

"Or that they wanted to make sure no one gets close to ExoGeni..." Shepard muttered as she listened for an opportunity to run out from cover to return the fire. "Do you see any good sniping spots, Garrus?" The turian quickly looked around and then nodded to Shepard.

"See one, but will be impossible to get to unless you cover me."

"Alright then, me and Ashley will lay down some fire of our own and Tali will use that window to do what she does best. Should give you enough time to get to your spot."

"Roger that, Shepard." Shepard once again listened to the geth fire while keeping eye-contact with Ashley. As soon as she noticed the fire-rate slowing down she nodded and swung around the corner. Ashley did the same and together the two of them managed to hold the geth off while Garrus made a dash for his new cover. Tali aimed her omni-tool towards a cluster of geth and they suddenly started shaking uncontrollably. They were easy pickings for the two human women. Once Garrus got to his sniping spot the rest of the fight were easy enough.

"See that? We don't need any biotics to still kick ass." Ashley said as they grouped up again.

"Wait and see until we meet a geth destroyer or something equally deadly." Garrus answered. "Then we'll see if we can still kick this much ass."

"Let's try to avoid all the more deadly confrontations if we can, shall we?" Shepard chuckled as they began moving towards the large building in the distance. Shepard prayed that there would be some good elevators in there because she sure as hell wasn't gonna walk up that amount of stairs.

"Spoilsport." Ashley giggled and if you just ignored the hundreds of geth that were probably waiting to ambush them, Shepard was having quite a good time.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

"I spot something... grey."

"Shut up, Holt."

"Maybe I'm missing something but isn't just about everything around here grey?" The asari asked with a confused face.

"You're right, Liara. This game is flawed." Holt said while nodding. Wrex mumbled something about all this being a waste of time. "Let's try this instead, I spot something beginning with the letter..."

"How about we do what we were ordered to do instead?" Kaidan said with an irritated expression.

"Stand around and wait for Shepard and gang to return? That's what we're already doing, aren't we?"

"We're supposed to keep an eye on the colonists and check for any weird behavior." He grumbled while rubbing his templates. Another migraine, Holt guessed. If this lieutenant wasn't dull enough to be around before then this certainly wasn't gonna help. "Isn't this supposed to be what you do for a living? Observe and report? Do that instead of playing around."

"I'll have you know that I've already done that." Holt said and nodded towards a building at the other end of the area they were in. "The colonists are trying their hardest to avoid making us interested in that place.

"I noticed that too." Wrex said, seemingly happy that the conversation was steering away from the pointless argument. "You can easily tell that there's something the colonists wanna keep a secret behind those doors.

"You're saying that they're hiding something in there?" Kaidan asked, now observing the large set of doors. "What sort of building is that?"

"Some sort of storage facility?" Liara suggested.

"Probably, but the real question is what it is that they're trying to hide." Holt answered.

"500 creds that Saren is hiding in there." Wrex grunted, already beginning to walk towards it. Kaidan voiced complaints that they should wait for the Commander but Holt ignored him and started following.

"500 creds that we walk into a giant red sand smuggling ring." Holt cheerfully said as he and the krogan made their way over to the building, Kaidan and Liara staying behind. "It wouldn't be the first time I've walked into one."

"Will Shepard complain if we kill any colonist that attacks us?" Wrex asked, clearly expecting a fight. Maybe even hoping for one as well.

"I would guess so, yes. So let's try and avoid that." Holt answered with a chuckle. He liked krogans. People complained that they were difficult to deal with but that just wasn't true. They were difficult to understand, yes. But easy to get along with once you did. They arrived at the doors to find them locked. Holt went up to the console and started the process of hacking it open. "Huh, that's interesting..." He mumbled with a faked, surprised voice.

"What?" Wrex grunted.

"Says here the next shipment of red sand will arrive in three days time. Guess you're gonna have to pay u-"

"Nice try, Holt. Get it open already, I don't wanna bring out my shotgun for a door." To the untrained ears it would sound as if the krogan was angry and complaining but Holt noticed the slight flash of amusement in his voice. Holt got the doors open and the two of them went inside. Holt looked back outside before the doors closed behind them and noticed that the colonists were all observing them. Looking like they wanted to intervene but something held them back.

"This place is weird..." He said out loud and Wrex grunted in agreement. The building they were in turned out to be nothing like a storage facility. Some boxes were spread around the area but nowhere near enough to be of any interest. The only thing that was worth checking out was another entrance on the far wall. "Is the bet still on past those doors?"

"Obviously." Wrex instantly responded. After another hacking of a console, the door was opened and revealed another room that was connected to the mountain behind the building. A large, ancient doorway was surrounded by digging equipment and lights.

"Well... I wasn't expecting that." Was all Holt could say. It looked like the entrance to some prothean ruins but judging by the size of it it had to be of some importance.

"Prothean?" Wrex asked out loud, probably looking for confirmation more than anything.

"Sure of it, yeah. They have a very distinct style."

"Why would they try and hide it?" Wrex asked, talking about the ruins.

"All races do it. If anything of value can be found in any prothean ruin they come across they wanna make sure they and they alone get to benefit from it." Holt answered. This wasn't the first time he had come across a prothean ruin that was meant to be hidden but it was the first time he had come across such a grand one. His adventurous side suddenly kicked him, motioning for him to keep exploring. "Doubt I still have a shot on that bet but what do you say, wanna see if we can find some turian ass to kick?" He asked the krogan next to him.

"Now you speak my language, Holt." The krogan grinned. they went into the ruins and for several minutes, all they met was more equipment of different kinds and dust gathered over the years. The two of them had their pistol and shotgun out but had yet been forced to use them. "I admit that it's big enough..." The krogan muttered as they walked through a large hallway. With how the lights were positioned you couldn't even see the ceiling.

"If I had a cred for every time I heard that." Holt joked, trying to lighten up the situation as the air was getting more and more ominous the further down they got. He could swear that there was something different about the air down here.

"You would live on the streets?"

"Ouch, my pride." Holt laughed. "Don't you find it strange that has yet to contact us and tell us how we are stupid and irresponsible?" Wrex looked at Holt as if the krogan just remembered that they had left two behind up on the surface. Holt brought out his omni-tool to contact them and see if everything was alright up there.

"Holt here, anyone up there reading me?" He asked and the room went silent as they waited for an answer. A couple of moments passed and he tried again. "Anyone up there ignoring me? I'll start making a constant screeching noise if I don't get a reply." And again there was no answer.

"Guess we're too far down." Wrex said as they continued walking. The idea of going back before they had found anything interesting not hitting either one of them.

"That shouldn't matter with our technology. Something must be interfering with the signal."

"Try contacting someone else then. Maybe that Shadow Broker friend of yours."

"Why, I don't know what you're talking about." Holt said in a monotone voice.

"Whatever." Wrex chuckled but it stopped as they entered another room that was more grand than all the previous ones combined. The room was circular with several levels and obviously housed something, or someone, important. The two of them went to the edge of large gap in the middle of the room and first looked up, unable to see where the ceiling was. When they looked down they were met with a sight that would etch itself into their memories for the rest of their lives.

"Well, I think we found something of interest to report. So what do you say we start heading back?" Holt said once he got his breath back. He looked towards his krogan squad mate and saw him nodding his approval.

"More betrayers..." A female voice was heard and they both swiftly turned around, weapons ready but no target was seen. A loud growl suddenly echoed through the chamber and all the lights went out, surrounding them in darkness.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

_A/N - Was hoping for a couple of chapters without needing to do an authors note. Was also hoping that the computer that's just over a week old wouldn't break down. Using a friend's computer right now to finish and post this chapter but it'll be another week or so (until my computer is repaired) before the next chapter. I love technology but it sure as hell doesn't love me._

* * *

Shepard was on her way back to Skyway Weigh Station where she had earlier come across a group of survivors from ExoGeni. A man named Ethan Jeong, who had acted as their leader, had told her to be careful not to damage corporate property. She was now instead going to damage him for keeping what was happening at Zhu's Hope a secret from her.

"Any luck in getting touch with the others?" She asked the turian as they were swiftly making their way back to the bastard who had a lot to answer for.

"Negative, the geth is very thorough with stuff like this." Garrus answered.

"I've almost managed to hack through their jamming signal, Shepard." Tali said as she was fidgeting away on her omni-tool. Shepard couldn't imagine how anyone could do complicated stuff whilst running like they were.

"Good, update me when it's done." She needed to warn her people back at Zhu's Hope as soon as possible. If this Thorian had mind-controlling abilities and all the colonists were affected by it...

"I wouldn't worry too much, Commander. They are more than capable enough to defend themselves." Ashley suddenly said, somehow noticing Shepard's distress.

"It's not them I'm worried about, it's the colonists." Ashley made a quick 'ah, gotcha'-face as they descended the stairs that would take them to their destination.

"You hear that?" Garrus whispered. Shepard focused her hearing and could indeed hear some sort of commotion coming from the direction of the station. "Sounds like fighting, think it's geth?"

"We were pretty thorough in getting rid of them." Shepard said as she brought out her assault rifle. She would never run into a possible fight unarmed. As they got closer they could see the survivors forming a circle around the origin of the shouting. Shepard forced her way through the people and saw Ethan Jeong in the middle of it all, holding a gun pointed to the head of a woman.

"Drop your weapons, Commander! I would prefer no one dying today!" He started yelling as soon as he saw Shepard.

"Your chances of getting out this alive will be better if you drop _your_ weapon, Jeong." She responded with a calm voice. She hated dealing with people like this. She subtlety motioned for Garrus and Ashley to slowly circle around him.

"My life is forfeit anyway with your return." He said while strengthening his hold over the panic-faced woman.

"You were hoping that the geth would get me?"

"Until my superiors contacted me about their decision with Feros, yes. Now all I want is to get out this mess alive and not cuffed in some Alliance cell." He pressed the gun harder on the woman's head. "And this is the only way for that to happen."

"By adding more crimes to your list?" Shepard glared at him. "ExoGeni knew about the creature under Zhu's Hope and they left it a secret for your own amusement." Judging by the reactions of the people around her it seemed that only Jeong knew what she was talking about. She felt relieved that the bastards were few in numbers this time. "Also, how did you know we were returning and how did you manage to get in contact with anyone through all the geth jamming signals?"

"I didn't get to my position being stupid, Shepard. I easily bypassed the signal after a bit of work and I have access to most of the security cams in the ExoGeni buildings." He said as if Shepard had mocked his intellect. "The company will simply tell everyone I went rogue with this operation and all blame will fall on me..." He said while lessening his hold slightly of the woman, Shepard noticed. "For safe passage away from this planet I'm willing to tell you how to bypass the jamming signals."

"You will still have to answer for your crimes sooner or later, Jeong." She calmly responded again. "And by arguing like this we're wast-"

"Crimes in _what_!?" He suddenly yelled. "The Thorian could help make us humans the most dominant species in the galaxy!" He pointed his gun towards Shepard now. "Is that not something you want!?" Before anything else could happen, Jeong was shot in the head from one of his sides. A burst of screams appeared quickly but was stopped once people realised exactly who it was that had been killed. Shepard glanced over to her side where she saw Garrus holster his weapon again, throwing a nod of thanks his way. Shepard went up to his body and removed his omni-tool and gave it to Tali.

"See if you can make use of his works." She calmly said. the quarian looked a little shaken but began tinkering away at it nonetheless.

"Dealing with scum the way they're meant to be dealt with feels... refreshing." Garrus said as he walked up to Shepard. "Glad I decided to follow you against Saren. Less desk work too."

"They were gonna use the Thorian?" Ashley asked as she too, joined the group.

"_Were_, we won't let them." Shepard stated as she calmed down the woman who had been the hostage. "Are you okay, miss...?"

"Juliana Baynham. Thank you, Commander. Jeong had always been odd but I didn't think he..."

"People backed into a corner tend to surprise you with their actions. Do you know anything about this Thorian creature?" Shepard asked, finding it difficult to believe that such a creature went by unnoticed by people who were kind of researching it.

"I know it's hard to believe but I didn't. ExoGeni likes to keep their secrets and we were divided into numerous cells. One cell not knowing what the other one was doing."

"Makes sense." Garrus said. "Almost all crime organizations work the same way for safety."

"Holt said something about it as well." Shepard said. "To help keep the agents identities hidden."

"I've used Jeong's hacks to break through the jamming signals, Shepard." Tali suddenly said. Shepard quickly brought up her omni-tool and contacted Kaidan.

"Shepard here. Do you read me, Kaidan?" There was slight static but the lieutenant's voice soon broke through.

"Commander! I've been trying to contact you for at least an hour!"

"Geth jamming signals." Shepard quickly explained, noticing the urgency in Kaidan's voice. "Did something happen?"

"About an hour ago Holt and Wrex went to investigate a building which they believed was hiding something important."

"They haven't returned yet?"

"And we haven't been able to contact them."

"I'll try contacting them now that the jamming signal is dealt with." Garrus said, turning his attention to his omni-tool. Shepard nodded.

"You didn't try to go in after them?" She asked.

"When we first couldn't contact them we decided to go after them but the colonists started acting hostile as soon as we got close to the building. They're docile as long as we stay away from it."

"Hold your position until we get there." Shepard ordered. "Shepard out." She turned towards Garrus who just shook his head. Still no response from the agent and the krogan then. She turned towards the researchers and workers of ExoGeni that had so far not tried to kill them. "We'll be moving towards Zhu's Hope. Most of the geth should have already been dealt with but keep your eyes and ears open, just in case." They all nodded and Shepard turned towards Garrus and Ashley. "You two cover the rear of the group and me and Tali will be in the front. Let's head back to Zhu's Hope with haste."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

_A/N - New computer is up and running, hopefully this one will last._

* * *

Holt was taking cover behind a low wall. An asari had kept him and Wrex backed into a corner for close to an hour now. Holt was by no means a stranger to drawn-out firefights but one hour was a bit too much for him. Wrex seemed to enjoy himself though.

"_This _is what I was promised when I joined Shepard!" He said while laughing as he was shooting at the enemy from behind the cover. A warp forced him back into cover though but his grin never vanished. "Endless enemies!" And that was what was pissing Holt off. No matter how many times they killed this asari another identic one just came back.

"You're not concerned about the fact that it's the same one we're fighting? An immortal enemy doesn't seem fair." He grumbled as he checked over the edge of his cover. The asari was out in the open, biotic shield up and seemingly unafraid of anything that the two of them can throw at her. "If you ignore the shooting and biotic, she kind of acts like the colonists."

"It's probably that giant flower-thing that's controlling her." Wrex calmly said as he went out of cover again to resume shooting. The flower-thing he mentioned was that giant creature that was hanging in the middle of the room, suspended over a great, seemingly bottomless hole.

"Oh yeah, looking forward to _that_ fight..." Holt grumbled. He remained in cover, frustrated over the fact that all his efforts in the last hour had done nothing for them. They needed to figure out how to stop this constant respawning of copies but they couldn't really figure that out with the constant harassment the asari was throwing at them.

"Where's your battlelust, Holt?" Wrex laughed as he kept keeping the asari at bay.

"It faded about half an hour ago."

"It'll return."

"You realise we're gonna have to eat or sleep sooner or later, right?" Holt sighed as he aimed over his cover to join Wrex in attacking the enemy. "We can't keep fighting forever." He was frustrated and bored but that didn't mean he wanted to die.

"Not with that attitude." Wrex scoffed.

"Can we at least try and stop this respawning madness?" Holt asked which Wrex responded with a glare.

"And give up this unlimited amount of target dummies?"

"Yes. This asari probably pales in comparison to Saren, who might still be on this planet." He very much doubted that himself and guessed that Wrex thought the same. There was still the chance of it being true though and hopefully the krogan would try and go for it.

"Alright, Holt." Wrex answered as they went back into cover. "What do you have in mind then?" He asked as Holt's vision flashed slightly and a low screeching sound entered his mind. This had been going on for the last half hour or so and was adding to his frustrations. He had no idea what could be the cause of it though.

"The only way I can think of that would stop this would be to destroy the thing in the middle of the room." He said as he told Wrex of the plan he had been forming during the last few minutes.

"Problem is that it's hide is too thick for our weapons to penetrate." Wrex said, just confirming what Holt already knew.

"Exactly, but those... tentacles? Arms?" Holt said whole motioning towards the things holding the being up in the air. "We might be able to hurt them enough for it to lose its grip if we get close enough to them.

"And how do we get close with this bitch on our asses?"

"We split up. Should be safe enough since it's only possible for one of those asari copies to exist at a time. I'm guessing you wanna engage in th-" Was all Holt managed to get out before Wrex turned back to firing at the asari with a grin. Holt shrugged and activated his cloak, quickly making his way towards the nearest arm. He wished that Shepard and the rest of the gang would get here soon. He had a feeling that it was this creature that had something to do with how the colonists were acting. And he didn't want to stay this close to it any longer than needed.

"You creatures serve no other purpose other than being thralls." A new voice spoke up. Holt quickly looked around and could now hear nothing other than the firefight going on. Holt was in no way stupid, he knew what was going on. He looked towards the creature in the middle, waiting for it to continue. When nothing happened he turned his attention back towards the arm.

"Wish I had brought my rocket launcher..." Holt muttered as he brought out a bit of omni-gel. Hopefully enough to damage the arm enough for it to lose its grip. He couldn't use too much or he wouldn't have enough for the remaining arms.

"You think yourselves above yo-"

"Don't caaare." Holt interrupted the voice in his head and made his way to a safe distance. He took cover behind a pillar and waited for the explosion.

"The creature known as 'Saren' thought he could dispose of me after his betrayal. What makes you thi-" The explosion that followed cut the being off and Holt checked around the corner. His eyes were met with the still intact arm of the creature.

"How thick is your hide?..." Holt mumbled in frustration. The screeching in his head was still going on and it was not because of the recent explosion. "You said you met Saren?" He asked as he made his way back for another round of omni-gel, not expecting an answer of any kind.

"His betrayal showed the stupidity of you pests."

"I didn't think you would be one to follow the news." Holt chuckled as he knelt down to plant another charge. "Honestly, Eden Prime was over a week ago."

"This is not about this place you call 'Eden Prime'. Saren's betrayal to me is much more recent." Holt realised that he might be able to get some info out of this thing.

"And what did he do? Not quite sure what a plant like you would consider to be betrayal. Maybe didn't water you enough? Didn't let you get enough sunshine?"

"Mocking only works went you hold the advantage." The voice boomed in his head and the screeching intensified.

"I'm holding explosives, is that not enough?" Holt said as he finished setting the charges and made his way back to cover. The screeching had started giving him a headache. He would have to stay back from the creature for a moment after this next explosion. He was starting to break out into a cold sweat now as well. The creature was obviously trying to take control of him but he still had complete control over his own actions. The krogan was still locked in a battle with the asari in the other end of the room.

"It is not, thrall." The voice simply stated as Holt went down behind cover and brought up his omni-tool to trigger the explosives. Problem was that his body never responded to his order of activating it.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Shepard was looking with wary eyes around the colony. The colonists were staring at her and her group with a look of hate and hostility. The people they had brought with them from Skyway Weigh Station looked around uncomfortable as the colonists clearly did not want them here. Ashley was speaking with Juliana who had taken up the role of leader for the ExoGeni people for the time being. Shepard was standing next to Kaidan and Liara, being updated to exactly what had happened.

"So they entered the building over there?" She asked while pointing towards a normal-looking building not far away from them. "But that was almost two hours ago?"

"That's right, and with how the colonists are acting..." Kaidan said as he also looked around. The hostility in the air increasing by the minute. He had told Shepard that if you tried and speak with the colonists they wouldn't even answer you.

"You couldn't approach it, I understand." Shepard said as she motioned for the team to group up. She would obviously have to go in after Holt and Wrex but leaving the workers up here alone was out of the question.

"We would probably feel more welcome while crashing a batarian wedding than we are here." Garrus said as they all went up to Shepard.

"We can't leave the ExoGeni people alone while we go after the others, Shepard." Ashley said. They all had their weapons out which probably didn't calm the situation but they would be vulnerable if they didn't.

"That's what I was thinking. Kaidan and Liara can guard them. The colonists are at least used to you somewhat. Ashley can stay up here as well, try and get all the ExoGeni people into a defensible position if the colonists show any sign of attacking you." She ordered and they all nodded and went off. Garrus and Tali remained by Shepard.

"What are the chances that the two of them managed to kill off this 'Thorian'?" Garrus asked.

"No idea, we have very little information about this... thing." Shepard answered as she motioned for the turian and quarian to follow her. "What I'm worried about is if they've been exposed to this Thorian's presence for too long and too close."

"You think they've been mind-controlled?" Tali asked with a hint of nervousness.

"So we might have to fight Wrex and Holt?" Garrus asked while eying the surrounding colonists. They had yet to attack them. "Did Holt bring his favourite toy?"

"The rocket launcher? No." Shepard answered to which Garrus sighed of relief. They were now at the door and wasn't surprised to see that someone had already unlocked it. 'Probably the work of Holt.' Shepard thought as they stepped inside. The room was lit and did in no way look ominous or dangerous. Just a simple, empty storage room.

"Another door on the other side but not much else." Garrus confirmed as they readied their weapons.

"No signs of fighting either." Shepard said as they made their way over to the next door. This one was unlocked as well and they cautiously stepped inside.

"By the spirits..." Garrus whispered.

"Wow..." Tali exclaimed.

"Holy shit..." Shepard said and she wished she didn't have such a foul mouth. The sight that met them was a giant entrance to some ruins, prothean by the looks of it. It seemed to have been built into the mountain itself. How they had managed to hide this in the colony was unbelievable.

"Guess we're heading inside then?" Garrus asked to which Shepard nodded and took point. She wanted this over and done with as soon as possible. Go in, kill the Thorian, get out. Hopefully getting some answers to why Karen was interested in the being would be nice as well. And then there was always the rescuing Holt and Wrex to look forward to. "This place seems... important." Garrus said as they walked down the halls.

"Prothean ruins usually are." Shepard answered as she checked around a corner. Not a single enemy in sight, neither human nor geth. If Saren had been here he was probably long gone.

"I meant that it was important to the protheans when they existed." Garrus said. "This Thorian creature might be larger than we previously thought."

"So we'll use more firepower then."

"Now you sound like Wrex, Shepard."

"Good, we'll need it if this Thorian is more powerful than what we believed."

"There's no sign of... anything here." Tali said as she looked up ahead. The only things that stopped this place falling into complete darkness were the lights that had been set up by the colonists that had first found these ruins. "Shall we try contacting them?"

"Just checked." Garrus said before Shepard could check her own omni-tool. "We don't even have any connection to the team up on the surface down here."

"That was to be expected, otherwise we would've heard from Holt or Wrex by now."

"Did someone call my name?" A deep, booming voice suddenly called out from down the corridor. They all aimed their weapons towards the new presence. "Put those away, I'm warmed up and you wouldn't stand a chance." Shepard let out a sigh of relief.

"Damn Wrex, for someone as large as you you sure know how to stealth around." Garrus chuckled as he brought down his weapon. Shepard and Tali did the same.

"Speaking of, where's Holt?" Shepard asked with a bad feeling in her gut.

"It would seem that he went as mad as the colonists up on the surface." The krogan explained as he got closer. Shepard could now see that he had been shot through one of his arms quite badly. As she was about to help him mend it he waved her off. "The wounds will close up soon enough, save your medi-gel. You'll need it."

"What happened?" Tali asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

"We found a large room with a giant creature of some sort hanging in the middle." Shepard and Garrus exchanged glances, that creature must be the Thorian. "Suddenly an asari woman shows up and attacks us. We killed her around twenty times before we decided to change our plan." Shepard stopped him by putting up one of her hands.

"Hold on, you killed her _twenty _times?"

"Give or take a few, was difficult to keep count since we were spread out sometimes." The krogan shrugged. "Got more kills than Holt though."

"So this asari is immortal?" Garrus asked.

"Holt think she was being duplicated by the creature somehow. Don't know and don't really care. It was fun while it lasted." Wrex chuckled.

"And then what happened?" Shepard urged Wrex to continue the explanation.

"As I said, Holt had a plan involving explosives. I was tasked with keeping the asari at bay. I heard one explosion and the next thing I know Holt is attacking me as well." Shepard felt her stomach turn. Was there even any way of 'curing' this mind control? Would she be forced to kill Holt? "He behaved similar to the colonists and the asari, not responding to any calls and acting like he was a puppet."

"So... We got our krogan back but now we're up against an ancient creature that might be older than all the council races combined, an immortal asari, and Holt?" Garrus said while sighing. "Not sure if we're in a better position than we were before."

"Can you still fight, Wrex?" Shepard asked as she started moving down the hall the krogan had arrived from. She already knew his answer.

"Of course, Shepard. Just wanted your opinion on what to do with Holt." Wrex said while chuckling. "The guy's got his moments, would be a shame for him to end up being the thrall of some plant."

"It sure would..." Shepard mumbled as she continued deeper into the ruins with more haste than earlier without really understanding why.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Holt didn't normally get confused, he usually had a clear head and had a good understanding about what was going on around him. Right now he was uncertain if he was even sure which side was left and which one was... the other one. The screeching was still in the back of his head which was driving him insane. He was sitting next to a wall of some chamber that he and... and someone else had entered some time ago. Had it been minutes or hours? He didn't know.

"Feels like there was something I was supposed to do..." He mumbled as he fiddled with the pistol in his hands.

"Clean this place of the betrayers." The voice that had kept him company appeared again.

"Didn't I already do that?" Holt asked with a raised eyebrow. He didn't even know who it was he had shot earlier or why he had done it. The voice had told him to attack the other person with such a demanding voice and Holt had felt the need to carry out its order.

"The filth fled and is bring more back with it." Well, that was problematic. The 'filth' had proven to be quite the decent fighter and Holt didn't know if he could handle that one plus extras.

"That asari will be helping I hope?" Holt asked as he stood up without even realising it. The creature didn't answer and Holt let out a sigh. Exactly who was it he was fighting and exactly why did Holt not care about who it was? He made his way over to the best spot that would give him a good look over the only entrance. How he was certain that this was the only entrance he did not know. "I'm completely out of it, how much did I drink last night?" Alchohol would explain the headache and maybe the screeching but wouldn't explain the voice. Should he even listen to it?

"They arrive." The voice suddenly boomed out in his head and Holt started firing as soon as he saw something move.

"Get behind cover! Do not shoot him!" A familiar female voice yelled. Had quite the nice voice, shame she had to die. "Holt! We're not your enemies! We don't wanna have to kill you!"

"Speak for yourself!"

"Damn it Wrex, not now!" He recognized this 'Wrex' fellow. It was the krogan he had been fighting earlier. It was also the krogan that... Where else had he met him?"

"They'll try to fool you with empty words and lies. Do not listen to them." The voice demanded in his head. Holt rolled his eyes, this voice didn't need to tell him. He had no intention of getting along with them. Holt fired a shot towards the krogan to rile him up a bit. When krogans got mad they got predictable.

"I'm not gonna let Holt just take free shots at me, Shepard!"

"Do _not_ shoot to kill!" The woman shouted again. Well, when they die it'll be their own fault for not going all-out in a fight. One of them, a turian by the looks of it, were trying to lay down some covering fire for the rest of them. He had a good shot and almost hit Holt in the shoulder. Knowing that they had no intention of killing him made this ridiculously easy though.

"Do not allow them to reach me." The voice ordered. 'Keep them away from the middle of the room, got it.' Holt thought. A biotic toss suddenly came flying past his shoulder, aimed towards the human and quarian. Somehow he knew it was that asari that had been fighting on his side earlier. Holt didn't even know her name. The enemies were mumbling something among each other. Holt fired at them a bit to remind them that he was there.

"Holt! Try and remember what you came here for! Remember Saren!" The name 'Saren' pissed him off for, what felt like, more than one reason. The voice hissed menacingly and Holt's mind kicked him for having forgotten something. Why was he personally mad at Saren? What had this Saren even done?

"They're here for the exact same reason as the betrayer! Get rid of them!" The voice sounded more furious than before after hearing Saren's name. Holt planted some omni-gel at his location while making sure none of the enemies saw what he was doing. He then activated cloak and ran towards another position. Satisfied over hearing the confused yells from the enemies he activated the charge. The explosion clearly caught them by surprise and they all stayed behind cover as the asari kept raining down various biotic skills on them.

"God damn it, Holt!" The female human yelled after the explosion passed. Holt's memory kicked him another time and he had to wonder if he had perhaps met this woman before. Another large bang was heard and Holt saw the asari fall. They managed to kill her off quite quickly, bummer. He deactivated cloak after reaching his new cover. They had been trying to surround him before he had moved he now noticed. The human and quarian had spread out a bit and the turian had almost managed to get behind him. The krogan was... Holt wasn't actually sure where the krogan was.

"Do not let them succeed!" The voice in his head boomed out. Holt rubbed his temples in annoyance. The voice was not helping when he was trying to figure out how to survive this. A large roar from Holt's side have him his answer to where the last enemy was. The krogan was charging him and charging him fast. Holt tried to dive out of the way but the krogan had managed to get too close and Holt was pushed out of the way into a pillar, hard. The voice was yelling something about incompetent thralls before Holt's vision faded to black.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

"Two down, unlimited to go!" Wrex shouted in joy as the krogan turned his attention somewhere else while Holt remained unmoving next to a pillar. Shepard started running up towards him to make sure he was still breathing before she was cut off by a biotic warp, inches from her face. She threw a glance towards where it had come from and saw the same asari that they had shot down only moments earlier.

"Guess you weren't kidding about her being immortal!" Garrus shouted from the other side of the room as he began shooting the new threat together with Wrex. Shepard looked around to make eye contact with Tali and nodded her head in Holt's direction as she joined the krogan and turian in trying to take down this asari and thorian.

"You mentioned something about blowing off the arms?" Shepard asked as she started moving towards one of them while trying to stay behind cover.

"That was Holt's plan." Wrex replied over the comm. Shepard looked down into the hole in the middle of the room and saw the plant hanging over the abyss below. That must be the thorian then. She ducked under cover again as a shot flew past her. She had managed to spot four arms keeping it hanging with one of them looking injured already. Must be the one that holt had tried to take down. She looked back to confirm that Tali was taking care of the man.

"Garrus, can you take care of the arms while me and Wrex keep the asari at bay?"

"Roger that, Shepard." The turian responded and Shepard saw him sneak off towards one of the arms.

"Wrex, how did you and Holt deal with this asari earlier?" She asked as she glanced over her cover. The asari was standing out in the open, seemingly unafraid of anything they can throw on her. Guess with her being immortal and everything she don't have to worry about stuff like dying.

"We shot her a lot." Good tactic, Shepard had to admit. She brought up her weapon and decided to see if it worked. Her shields were tanking a lot of damage as Shepard and Wrex threw everything they had at her. It didn't take long until an explosion was heard throughout the room and Shepard saw one of the arms lose its grip.

"Good work, Garrus." Shepard said as she also saw Wrex taking down the asari one more time. It wouldn't take long until she would be back again. "Keep an eye on Garrus, Wrex." She quickly said as she ran back towards where Tali had dragged off Holt. Tali had done a good job at moving him towards a well protected position.

"He's breathing but seems to have taken quite the hit to his head, Shepard." Tali said as she noticed Shepard got close. Shepard noticed a tiny trail of blood going from where Holt had been tackled to where they were now. There was also a small amount of medi-gel on the side of his head. His injury didn't seem too serious.

"Not much to lose for him up there anyway." Shepard joked now that she knew he would be okay.

"I might have a concussion and you mock me?" A groggy voice suddenly came out of the man on the ground. "What hit me? A spaceship?" Holt asked as his eyes slowly opened. Shepard let out a small laugh.

"Wrex rammed you." She said as she put a hand on his chest to motion for him to stay down. He was already trying to get back up.

"Same thing, really." Holt said as he obliged and remained down with his back towards a wall. He quickly shook his head and looked like he was trying to sort out his vision before looking back up to Shepard. "So are we done down here or is that overgrown weed still hanging around?"

"It's still around. Only got three ar-" Shepard said as an explosion was heard. "Two arms to go." She chuckled. Holt checked over her shoulder as she was kneeling down in front of him, quickly making sure that the medi-gel was applied well enough. He then brought up his omni-tool and started working away at it and suddenly another explosion boomed across the room. Looking back over her shoulder she saw another arm, the one that had already been injured, fall down.

"One to go." Holt said with a smirk as the firefight started again. Guess the asari was back. Shepard grabbed her weapon which was on the ground and turned back towards Holt. "I promise I won't move." He said while rolling his eyes, as if he had managed to read her mind. Shepard let out another chuckle before nodding her approval and sprinted back to help the turian and krogan.

"Holt is fine?" Garrus asked over the comm as Shepard once again got into cover. The asari was a lot more aggressive this time and was throwing warps and throws around far faster than should be possible. The thorian was probably getting annoyed or scared. Possibly both.

"A bit shaken up but otherwise well enough."

"A bit shaken up after getting charged by Wrex?" Garrus asked with a surprised tone in his voice.

"I was holding back." Wrex quickly added as if they had just insulted him.

"Well, thank you for not killing Holt." Shepard made sure to tell the krogan. He was almost going one-on-one with the asari without breaking a sweat. How could he not have been brainwashed as Holt had been? Maybe it was because of him simply being krogan or maybe it was because Holt had been closer to the thorian.

"Can you two try and keep her in that location while I try and flank her?" Garrus asked over the comm. It wasn't as much of a question as it was a statement. Shepard still obliged and started overworking her assault rifle and the asari's shields were struggling to stay active. Wrex had a bright smirk on his face as he too bombarded her with shotgun shells. Moments later a loud bang sounded throughout the room. That rifle of Garrus had claimed another victim. Although Shepard didn't know if these clone kills counted, she would have to ask Wrex later.

"Good work. Get to work on that last arm." She said as she kept her weapon out incase more of those clones showed up.

"Pests! Pests all of you!" A deep voice was suddenly heard. It was a very angry and powerful voice that Shepard guessed belonged to the Thorian. Judging by the reaction of Garrus and Wrex, they had heard it too.

"You're the Thorian, I take it?" Shepard asked out loud, uncertain on how else to communicate with the creature.

"You think you've won, insignificant bugs? I am ancient and eternal while you are young and doomed."

"Big words for someone hanging clinging onto life by a thread, almost literally." Shepard chuckled at her own joke.

"I made the mistake of giving Saren the cypher. I will not repeat that mistake." It calmly said and before Shepard could say another word another explosion echoed throughout the chamber. As she watched the thorian lose its grip and fall to its presumed death, she couldn't help but get a bad feeling that they had just missed out on something crucial. Shepard looked towards Garrus who simply shrugged.

"I bet it was just stalling for time so it could do to us what it did to Holt." Shepard looked back towards the hole in the middle of the room with a sigh.

"I hope you're right. Whatever it was that Saren found out here... We better hope it wasn't important."

"What Saren learned is of great importance." An unfamiliar voice said and Shepard together with Garrus and Wrex aimed their weapons towards its source. The asari that must've died numerous times today was approaching them with hands raised.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

_A/N - Don't worry, this won't be about any exploding computers. Just wanted to take a second and thank everyone who's following this story. Lots of reviews/favorites/follows and over 16k views. With this chapter we have about three/four more 'arcs' to go through before we're done with Mass Effect 1. Thanks again for your support and please keep/start reviewing!  
_

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Tali asked nervously as she was keeping watch over Holt, making sure he didn't stand up.

"The voice?" Holt asked as he made an effort to stand up anyway. The Thorian was gone and hopefully the threat was as well. His vision blurred slightly as he got to his feet. A krogan charge was something he did not want to experience again, only good thing about it seemed to have been that it brought him out of the mind control. That had been quite the different experience.

"Was it the Thorian that spoke to us?"

"Yeah." Holt answered as he slowly started making his way over to Shepard and the rest of the group. His legs had never been this wobbly before. As he got closer he could see that the asari was with them, showing no hostility.

"What is the asari covered in?..." Tali asked in disgust. Holt could see it now as well. The asari was covered in some sort of green... slime. When they got close enough he noticed that the smell was just as bad as it looked.

"Thorian bile?" Holt guessed as he walked past Tali, heading towards Wrex. The krogan didn't seem more pissed off than usual and Holt hoped that his mood was good enough that he would forgive him for shooting him once or twice. "Hey Wrex."

"Holt."

"No hard feelings?" Wrex looked at him with a confused expression for a few moments.

"For what?"

"The... The shooting you and stuff?" Wrex simply started laughing.

"You barely scratched me, Holt." Holt would be insulted if it wasn't for the fact that he was getting worried that there were now three Wrex standing side by side. He was also pretty certain that Wrex did not have a cloning ability like the asari seemed to have. Speaking of who was still speaking with Shepard and Garrus. "Hell, you getting brainwashed and all actually evened out the odds. Made the battle more interesting."

"Well, glad to be of service then." Holt chuckled as he struggled to keep focus on the 'correct' Wrex. "Excuse me for a moment." He said as he walked past Wrex and headed towards the hole in the center of the room. Shepard turned around to look at him as he made his way over.

"Holt, are you su-" Holt interrupted her by putting up his hand and continued towards the hole. He supported himself by placing a hand on one of the pillars and before long his breakfast started raining down into the hole. Holt had gotten concussions before and the worst part about them were the constant feeling of being nauseous. He was not looking forward to returning to the surface with all the loud noises and bright lights. Shepard waited until he was done and back with the rest of the group.  
"Feeling better now?" She asked and made no effort to try and hide the tone of amusement in her voice.

"So the asari has regained her senses as well?" Holt asked, changing the subject over to the one in question who was being watched by the others.

"Shiala here is no longer under the Thorian's influence. She's filled me in a bit about what it was that Saren wanted out of the Thorian."

"You're certain she's no longer enthralled?"

"You're certain you're not?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Good point. So what exactly is it that Saren wanted from the Thorian?" The asari, Shiala, stepped forward to answer that.

"The Thorian was on this planet even before the protheans arrived. It managed to learn quite a lot about their culture and their way of thinking." Shiala said as she did her best at wiping off... whatever it was that she was covered in.

"So I just threw up on a being that's probably older than all the current races combined?"

"That makes for a great story to tell your grandchildren." Garrus chuckled.

"So why is it important to learn how the protheans lived their lives?" Holt asked Shepard.

"To understand the cipher which I got from the beacon on Eden Prime."

"And Shiala here, who has probably merged with the Thorian, can meld with you and help you make sense of those visions?" The look on Shepard as Holt hit the bulls eye was priceless.

"Well, that saves a lot of explaining. So you think that's a good idea?"

"You're asking me?"

"Well, Garrus and Tali wasn't sure on what to do and Wrex probably doesn't care. Besides, you're intelligent enough that I respect your opinions. Even after you threw up like a drunk." She jokingly said with a smirk.

"What a compliment. And melding would work but it'll might give you quite the headache." Holt said as he shrugged his shoulders. "You might even pass out and I'm not gonna carry you back to the ship again."

"You know a lot about melding?" Shiala asked with a surprised tone.

"I've even done it once, which is a story for another time." He added as he sensed a lot of questions coming his way. "Anyway, once you've melded with Shiala and rested, you could meld with Liara as well. Her knowledge about the protheans might help you make even more sense of the visions."

"So melding isn't dangerous?" Shepard asked.

"In your case, I highly doubt it."

"Was that a compliment?" Shepard asked with a smile on her face. "Alright then. Let's get this done." She told Shiala. The asari nodded and approached the commander. Tali and Garrus looked a bit nervous and Holt was glad that Alenko wasn't here at the moment. He would've started arguing and Holt's headache right now couldn't handle that. The eyes on the asari went black as she yelled out what Holt presumed was what all asari said while melding.

"Embrace eternity!" It only took a moment before Shepard fell to the floor, passed out. Garrus raised his weapon towards the asari for a second before he saw that Shepard was breathing. Shiala was trying to catch her breath and the standing members of the ground team all looked at each other.

"So..." Garrus began.

"I already said that I won't carry her this time." Holt quickly followed up.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Slowly blinking her eyes open, Shepard let out a sigh as she realized where she was.**  
**

"I really do wish you would visit me at least once while still conscious." A tender voice said from the desk on the other side of the room.

"I wish I could stay conscious as well." Shepard groaned as she sat up. The aftereffects of a melding felt a lot like a hangover.

"Lieutenant Alenko took charge as you were taken to the ship. Here's the debrief of the mission." Doctor Chakwas said as she handed Shepard a data pad. Before Shepard could ask she continued. "You've been out cold for just over six hours."

"I'm making progress then." Shepard chuckled as she looked over the data pad. Seems like the colonists were back to normal and the asari Shiala stayed behind to help the colonists get back on their feet after what the Thorian did to them. The data they got on ExoGeni and their experiments have been forwarded to Alliance Command and the innocent ExoGeni workers got a temporary place to stay in Zhu's Hope. Smiling to herself, Shepard was happy to know that she had such a competent team behind her, being able to take care of stuff like this without any difficulties.

"Get something to eat and drink and then get some more rest. I'm no expert when it comes to melding but Liara and Holt told me that rest is more than enough to deal with the aftereffects." Chakwas said as Shepard handed back the data pad and made for the door.

"Will do!" Shepard happily said, leaving the med-bay with haste. She liked Chakwas but hated the room said person was in. Hospitals or med-bays had always felt so depressing to her. Very rarely did you visit those places with positive thoughts. With a feeling of déjà vu she went to the mess hall to see if there was anything edible left from the dinner. From what she had seen of the crew the last few weeks the chance of that happening was slim. There was only one group of people in the whole mess hall still present and Shepard couldn't help but smile when she was just what group it was. Holt, Joker, Garrus and Wrex. She walked up quietly to eavesdrop on their conversation. Only Wrex noticed her approaching but didn't call her out.

"Ok, I got it!" Joker suddenly exclaimed.

"Let's hear it." Garrus said as he took a sip of his drink. Nothing alcoholic Shepard guessed since the only alcohol on board The Normandy that she knew about was in Chakwas office.

"Elcor, volus and hanar... Kill, fuck or marry." Shepard couldn't help but let out a cough upon hearing the subject. The ones that had not noticed her coming over all turned around towards her.

"Up and running already, Shepard?" Garrus asked with a slight of... disappointment? She was about to ask him what he meant by that before she noticed him bringing up his omni-tool. Holt also followed with bringing up his with a frown. Joker brought up his as well with a grin on his face.

"Don't tell me..."

"Easiest 100 creds I've ever earned." Joker laughed.

"You took bets on when I would wake up?" She had to ask. Garrus looked slightly embarrassed while Joker still had the grin on his face. Wrex didn't seem to care and Holt looked angry. She threw a questioning look at him which he caught and started explaining.

"Joker came up with the idea and Garrus first guessed 24 hours. I guessed 23 hours and 59 minutes and then Joker guessed 23 hours and 58 minutes. With you now waking up after only around six hours then Joker was closest."

"So he beat you with your own tactic." Shepard chuckled as she let the subject slide. Chakwas had told her that her health was never in danger from the melding and these people probably knew it. "Either way, please continue with whatever it is you're doing." She said with a grin while folding her arms, showing them she had no intention of leaving. Garrus and Joker looked a bit uncertain about what to do but Holt didn't seem to mind there being a woman among them all of a sudden.

"Marry is easy, elcor." Joker quickly spun around to face him.

"You really have to explain why you think that is such an easy decision."

"The most important thing in a marriage is honesty. What kind of secrets could an elcor keep from me? 'Nervously lying; No honey, I wasn't anywhere special last night.'" Holt said as he did his best at imitating an elcor. Shepard couldn't help but giggle and the others around the table let our their fair of chuckles as well.

"Good point, continue." Joker said.

"I would probably kill the volus, not sure how sex with them would work."

"So you would have sex with the levitating piece of jelly?" Garrus asked.

"Just want to make it clear that I have no intentions of seeking a sexual relationship with any hanar ever." Holt said while holding up his hands before he motioned towards Joker that it was his turn. Without noticing, Shepard had sat down with them.

"Kill elcor since sex or marriage with them would end up with my death. Marry would have to be... hanar."

"So sex with volus?" Shepard asked, interested to hear the reasoning behind Joker's decision.

"They probably have something in their suits that's desig-"

"And you, Garrus?" Holt thankfully interrupted before Joker could continue.

"Marry hanar, sleep with volus and kill elcor."

"That 'sleep with volus' didn't seem like a difficult choice?" Shepard asked.

"Never seen them without a mask, gonna gamble and hope that they're the hidden gems of the galaxy." Garrus quickly answered.

"Sounds like this has entered your mind before." Holt said with a teasing voice before he turned towards the krogan. "And you, Wrex?" They all turned to look at the one who had simply observed until now. Shepard was really interested in what a krogan would prefer out of those three races.

"No." Was his simple answer and none of the people at the table dared to press him for an answer. So instead all the attention turned towards Shepard. She had already thought out an escape plan.

"And you, Shepard?" Joker asked with a smile and a glint in his eyes. Shepard simply shrugged in an apologetic way.

"Chakwas told me that I need rest, sorry." And with that she stood up and started leaving the mess hall. She couldn't help but grin as she heard the complaints coming from Joker, Garrus and Holt behind her.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Holt was back in the usual spot down in the cargo bay. He had complete vision of his surroundings without looking like he was hiding something. More importantly, he was out of earshot of everyone else in the room. He had sent a mission debrief about Zhu's Hope minutes earlier to Tela. She usually contacted him back to complain about missing info or badly constructed sentences. Yesterday had been eventful with the whole mind-control business. Thankfully, it seemed like no one put any blame on him for what happened. Alenko had thrown a couple of angry glares but that was to be expected at this point. Even after bonding over a mako he didn't really seem to care very much about Holt's presence. An expected beep from his omni-tool was heard in the almost empty cargo bay.

"Did I misspell 'clusterfuck'?" He said as he answered the call.

"What? No, your report was good enough this time." Tela said, surprised by the unusual greeting.

"Then to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice?"

"I'm not the bearer of good news this time, Holt." Well that didn't sound good.

"What bad news do you have for me then?"

"Not news, rumors." That's much better, Holt didn't mind rumors. "I've a feeling that the boss is trying to replace you as our agent on The Normandy." That's a lot worse, Holt didn't like to be replaced. You very rarely got replaced in this business since the information you've gathered so far could be used by the enemies of whoever it was you were taking orders from.

"Why am I getting 'replaced' and why are you warning me?"

"From what I've heard there's a big question mark about where your loyalty lies." Holt was worried that that was the reason. Only way to prove his loyalty to The Shadow Broker would be to royally betray Shepard. But that wouldn't really be beneficial for anyone but the Saren. "And I'm warning you since I think it would be a waste if you was... replaced." Tela's pause there proved that she also knew what 'replaced' really meant.

"So you would miss me?" Holt asked with a grin.

"I would mourn you for a whole day."

"Gee, thanks."

"Don't mention it! Anyway, how was it to be mind-controlled?"

"Sudden change of topic... I don't know, I remember most of what happened during that time but I can't remember why I felt like attacking Shepard and the rest of the gang."

"Hmm..." Tela hummed. "Shame you had to blow it up. What is it with you and destroying ancient things that can be of great value?"

"I get such a rush out of destroying history." Holt joked. "Gives me more room to make my own mark on it."

"Such a good goal to have _as a secret agent_." Tela said with fake seriousness in her voice. Holt liked it when she was like this and not 100% focused on a job of some sort. Some noise in the background on her end caused her to let out a weary sigh. "Work calls... I'll contact you if the situation changes." She said, referring to the whole 'you might get assassinated soon' business.

"Right, speak to you later... And thanks." Holt added as he hung up and scouted the surroundings. It was just after lunch and the cargo bay was quite active with people doing their own little things. Holt wondered how he was gonna tackle the problem about being branded a traitor to The Shadow Broker. He could just go to the nearest terminal and start hacking away for Alliance info that would please the boss. The thing was though that he didn't want to. Shepard had, for the most part, treated him with the same amount of respect as her fellow Alliance soldiers. She had also taken a bullet for him, to simply backstab her nothing didn't feel right.

"Someone is deep in thought." Shepard's voice suddenly called out next to him. She had somehow managed to sneak up to his pile of boxes without him noticing. She had really improved her stealth in a really short time-span.

"Yeah, I let my guard down way too easily on this ship." Holt admitted as he watched Shepard climb up on the boxes to sit down next to him. Her melding together with Liara, despite objections from quite a few people that it was too soon, didn't seems to have fatigued her as much as the first melding.

"Strange with it being one of the safest places in the universe right now if you're an enemy of Saren." Shepard chuckled. If anyone else would've said it like that he would've guessed that they accused him of siding with Saren but with Shepard he knew it was just friendly banter.

"Old habits die hard."

"Is sitting on top of uncomfortable boxes also a habit of yours?" She asked with a smile as she casually started picking her nails. Holt really couldn't understand why she was so frequently engaging in friendly small-talk with all the people that worked under her. Didn't she have a ship to run? While he didn't mind it he found it really strange for a superior to do stuff like this.

"In a way it is. I was sometimes tasked with scouting various warehouses as a tunnel rat. Climbing all the mountains of boxes, which seemed so much bigger back then, was actually fun and a welcomed break from the 'normal' days."

"That made me remember something actually." Shepard said as she stopped focusing on her nails and switched her focus to Holt instead. He had no intention of engaging in a staring contest with those emerald eyes at the moment so he pretended that something on the other side of the cargo bay caught his interest. "You remember when I asked you if anything in your 'profile' that we found was true?"

"...Yes?"

"You said you don't know who your father is?"

"Don't tell me you feel sorry for me over such a thing?"

"While I don't jump of joy while thinking about it, it wasn't what I wanted to talk about." Holt could still feel the stare. She was trying to read him. "It sounded like you did remember your mother but there was a lot of negativity in that answer." Holt sighed. He really didn't wanna talk about that woman but doubted that Shepard would give up if he refused to answer.

"There's no entertainment to be gotten from the story about my mother, Shepard."

"If I was looking for entertainment I would ask for an entertaining story." She quickly responded while never breaking her stare. "I'm interested in the events that formed people. I won't force it out of you though." Holt knew that last sentence was a lie. She would find a way to force it out of him, maybe by getting him drunk.

"Alright then, remember how tunnel rats are... acquired?"

"They use homeless kids, right?"

"Most of the time, yeah. But those are usually weak and difficult to train. Not very sought-after by the information brokers or gangs since pretty much anyone can get one with the promise of food and shelter that doesn't involve the sewers."

"You make them sound like animals." Shepard said with a frown.

"That's because that's how they're seen." Shepard didn't seem to agree at all.

"So you weren't one of the homeless kids then?"

"Nope."

"So they... kidnapped you?" Shepard asked, clearly wondering why Holt wouldn't care for his mother if he was taken from her.

"No, guess again."

"They rescued you?" She tried again.

"_Beep_, wrong again. Last chance now." Shepard was deep in thought but Holt guessed that it wouldn't take long for her to figure it out since all the other options were gone.

"So she sold you?" Holt didn't need to answer before Shepard slowly shook her head while finally breaking off her stare. Her eyes went off into the distance. "That would explain the sour feelings." She added before they both went quiet. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, oddly enough. "So I'm guessing that you don't know her fate since you said something along the lines of 'who knows what that woman is up to'?"

"If she's alive then she should probably still be on Omega."

"You don't think she took the credits she... got for you and left the place?" Holt chuckled as Shepard was tip-toeing around the subject.

"You flatter me if you think she got enough credits to give her a ticket out of Omega." Shepard slightly tilted her head as she looked back at Holt.

"How much did she get?" She asked, clearly uncertain if she should ask such a question.

"She didn't have to go hungry for a week at least. Or maybe she got one night of fun for them." Holt said while being a bit uncomfortable talking about how much he was _worth_ as a kid. He bet to himself that he would fetch a much better price today.

"You never saw her again after what happened?"

"After she sold me? I don't know, to be honest. I was very young when it happened and I have no idea what she looks like today since my memory of her face is a bit foggy at best." Judging by Shepard's reactions Holt had to guess that her upbringing was a lot more 'normal'. He wanted to change subject anyway since Shepard got her curiosity sated. "Your family never sold you off to anyone?" He asked with a smirk, hoping to leave this depressing subject behind. Shepard gave off a faint smile.

"They sent me off on plenty of training camps but never got any money for it. They actually had to spend money to get me out of their sight."

"That's even more sad than my story." Holt laughed and Shepard joined him.

"But seriously, I'm lucky enough to have a father and mother who's supported me like they have." She said as she looked off into the distance again. "Just wish they grew old enough to retire already..." She mumbled with a hint of worry in her voice. Holt guessed that that was one positive thing about his situation. He knew Shepard's parents were both in the military and she had to sometimes worry about their well-being. Something Holt never had to do. He looked back over to Shepard and realized that was no longer true.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

"Commander, we'll reach Binthu in 30 minutes." Joker's voice called out over the comm. Shepard, who was buried beneath a mountain of paperwork following the events on Feros welcomed the interruption with open arms.

"Thank you, Joker." She said as she stood up and walked away from her dreaded desk. They had received a message from an Admiral Kahoku while they were dealing with the Thorian. Cerberus had been the group behind the trap on Edolus and now this Admiral, still angry over the death of his marines on that planet, was gonna go after the group of human terrorists. As she was changing from her tank top to her combat suit there was a sudden knock on the door. Slightly startled she hurriedly put on the armor and calmly answered the knock. She had an image to keep up after all and couldn't be caught being embarrassed over such a trivial thing. "Come in." The door opened and Kaidan entered the room with determined steps.

"Commander, may I have a word with you?" Shepard didn't appreciate the tone he was using. He had been in a sour mood since Feros. At least he still saluted her which proved that he still had some kind of respect for her though.

"Speak, Lieutenant." If he was gonna speak to her like that then she was gonna return it.

"This mission to Binthu came from Alliance command in order to deal with an Alliance problem, am I correct?"

"Sort of, what exactly are you saying?" Shepard asked as she narrowed her eyes. Kaidan had almost started sounding like Ashley if he was going where she think he was going. That also reminded Shepard that she still needed to sit down with the gunnery chief and fix her passive racism towards aliens. Maybe bringing her with Shepard down to deal with some Cerberus scum would widen her views a bit.

"I think that we should let the Alliance handle this mission, if you know what I mean."

"I do know what you mean and I do not agree." Kaidan took an obvious sigh and continued.

"It's understandable that some of them have a reason or cause to aid us against Saren. But this has nothing to do-" Shepard felt the need to interrupt him there since his choice of words had been strange.

"_Some of them_?..." She folded her arms across her chest and managed to stare the Lieutenant down, even though he was slightly taller than her. "Don't tell me this is still about Holt?" Judging by Kaidan's reaction it seemed like she was correct in her guess. "You still don't trust him?"

"He tried to kill you on Feros!" Kaidan suddenly shouted, catching Shepard by surprise. Kaidan was the type of person that Shepard never expected to let his emotions take the upper hand.

"While under the effec-" Was all Shepard managed to get out before it was her turn to be interrupted.

"And how can you be so certain that he simply didn't use the Thorian as an excuse to attack you!?"

"Chakwas confirmed that th-"

"And if he really was brainwashed, who's to say he isn't anymore!?" Shepard finally had enough of Kaidan's accusations. She also had enough of being interrupted.

"Listen here, Lieutenant." She said with as much authority as she could muster. It worked since Kaidan went quiet. "Holt or any of the others that aren't part of the Alliance might not work for them. But they do work with me which in turn makes them work with the Alliance. Besides, what's wrong with accepting help when it's being offered?"

"Let's just hope they're helping for the right reasons." He said before turning around and walking out the door. Shepard unfolded her arms and let out a sigh. This time she was not gonna risk bringing both Kaidan and Holt this time. Maybe some people were simply not meant to get along. She now half expect Holt to fade in next to her but that never happened. Maybe he didn't follow her around cloaked all the time. She decided to let Kaidan get a head start of a few minutes so she wouldn't be stuck in the elevator with him. His frustration over having Holt on board had turned into hatred after Feros. She would have to deal with problem once they got back to the ship.

"You should probably gather up the people you want to come with you on this mission, Commander." Joker's voice suddenly called out through the comm.

"I'm guessing you listened in on all that, Joker?" Shepard rubbed her forehead and let out another sigh. Just what she needed, a fight between the Commander and and her XO and someone who overheard said fight.

"We sure did. I've been here for the last hour or so." Another voice was suddenly heard over the comm. Shepard's eyes shot open as the owner of the voice was the last person she wanted to know about what had just happened.

"You were supposed to stay quiet, Holt." Joker's voice whispered loud enough for Shepard to hear.

"Imagine the face she's making right now, though. Why are there no cameras in the Captain's cabin?" Holt answered. Shepard swore that those two were long-lost brothers considering how easy they got along.

"Some stupid thing called 'privacy'."

"Bah, I thought this was a military vessel. I was under the impression that there were no such thing as 'privacy' with you guys."

"Holt and Joker..." Shepard said in a low voice which went unnoticed.

"There aren't unless you've kissed enough asses to get you a rank high enough to be considered important."

"Shepard has kissed asses? Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"_Holt and Joker_..." Shepard now growled. This time they caught the hint.

"Sorry, Commander. Our lips are sealed about what just happened."

"Can't make any promises about the ass-kissing though. That info is worth my weight in element zero." Shepard must have let out another growl without realizing since Holt suddenly sounded very regretful. "I'm not allowed to come with you to Binthu now, I take it?" Sighing yet another time, Shepard started making her way out of the room.

"Gear up, Holt."

"Roger that, Shepard." Holt said in a happy tone and Shepard suddenly got the image of Holt being some sort of dog that was just promised to be taken out for a walk. Shepard took a glance around as she walked past the mess room and let out a sigh of relief as she didn't spot Kaidan. Mentally slapping herself for avoiding her subordinates she continued towards the elevator. At the same time trying to figure out who else should come with her to deal with Cerberus.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

"I'm honestly baffled over how much you and Shepard seem to be getting along." Joker said with a smile as he turned the comm off.

"Underneath all that plating and gunpowder there's simply a lonely girl who just wants a friend." Holt said in a dramatic tone as he stretched out his limbs. The co-pilot's chair was comfortable but damn was it unhealthy for you if you're supposed to be running around on a battlefield in just a few moments.

"I find it very difficult to see Shepard as a helpless girl." Joker laughed.

"Almost thought you were about to say that you 'find it difficult to see Shepard as a girl.'"

"Oh no no no. It's _very _easy to see that Shepard is a girl." Joker raised an eyebrow towards Holt who was still trying to get his blood flowing properly. "You have been 'geared up' this whole time. Did you know that Shepard was gonna bring you with her down to the planet?"

"I had a feeling." Holt smiled as he waved goodbye to the pilot and started making his way towards the elevator. The crew had paid less and less attention to him lately but he was being more paranoid than ever since the conversation with Tela. Knowing that The Shadow Broker had his eyes on you made you sleep a little bit less peaceful during the nights. He walked past a clearly agitated Alenko who were talking with some of the crew members. He threw a friendly nod which was only met with a cold glare. Holt kept on walking, not wanting a confrontation just yet, and got up to the elevator doors.

"Those were some daggers that Kaidan shot at you. What did you do to upset him this time?" A female voice asked from behind. Holt didn't need to turn around to know who it was as he could now place the voice to the person on most people on the ship.

"Didn't tie my shoelaces the right way? Who knows." Holt said with a shrug. He actually knew exactly why but decided that he wouldn't gossip about the sour mood between the commanding officer and her XO to anyone else on the ship. Joker might, but that wouldn't be on Holt's head if he did.

"Right, if you say so." Ashley said, not convinced at all by the sound of it. "Heading down to the cargo bay? Has Shepard already decided who's coming with her?" Just as she asked the question the elevator doors opened and on the opposite side were Shepard, leaning towards the wall. Arms crossed over her chest and a irritated expression on her face. No one said anything for a few moments and entering the tiny space with an angry Shepard felt like a bad idea. "Wow, you've managed to piss off quite a few people lately it seems." Ashley whispered to Holt which Shepard somehow managed to overhear anyway.

"You two are gonna enter the elevator or not?"

"Yes ma'am!" Ashley quickly responded to the authority in Shepard's voice and almost threw a salute on top of it. Holt laughed loudly as he followed her into the elevator.

"Rough day, Shepard?" He asked with a smirk once the doors closed. She only grumbled in response before her eyes narrowed on him.

"You're already geared up? I only told you to get ready two minutes ago."

"I change quickly."

"Uh-huh..."

"Who else are you taking with you, Commander?" Ashley asked as the conversation died down.

"You, Holt and Wrex will be coming with me. Liara is still trying to make some sense of the vision she saw as we melded. Don't comment on that, Holt." Holt who had opened his mouth to say something, in his opinion extremely hilarious, shut it instantly. "Tali and Garrus are in the middle of some tech project of theirs. They tried explaining it to me but I kind of lost track instantly of what they were talking about."

"Technology scares you, Shepard?" Holt asked and was pleased to see that her sour mood had improved as she smiled back at him.

"More like confuses me. I'm happy as long as the people who understand that stuff makes it user friendly for people like me."

"By the way, what's up with Kaidan?" Shepard noticeably winced as Ashley asked that question.

"I don't know." Shepard lied.

"He's not exactly been a ray of sunshine ever since I met him but lat-"

"I'll speak with him once we're done with the mission at hand. I suggest you focus on it as well, Williams." Shepard interrupted her.

"Yes, ma'am." Ashley responded as they arrived at the cargo bay. It was full of activity but it was still easy to notice the giant krogan who seemed to impatiently wait for some more action. They walked out and Shepard motioned for Wrex to gather up as they went to their lockers to pick up their weapons.

"You guys think this will be a rocket launcher mission?" Holt asked as he eyed his precious. Wrex grunted in approval while Ashley and Shepard threw him a questioning glance.

"We will be in close quarters once we get inside their base." Shepard said while keeping an eye on Holt, probably to make sure he didn't grab it. He would have to convince her that bringing it along would be a good idea.

"The Thorian was fought in somewhat close quarters. What if Cerberus has one of their own?" Shepard still didn't look convinced. "We would stand a much better chance if I brought it with me."

"Well, remember that you started shooting at us after a while." Shepard chuckled.

"She's right, Holt." Wrex added. "Bring it with you and maybe this time it'll be a more even fight." Holt nodded in agreement while looking at Shepard. She just sighed and shrugged, giving him the permission to bring it with him.

"What's up with men and explosions..." Shepard grumbled as they all finished picking out their weapons of choice.

"Also, if it's not too much trouble. Could we land with the mako a bit closer to our destination this time?" Holt asked as they started making their way over to the freshly calibrated vehicle. Holt thought that Garrus should seek help concerning his calibrating addiction. He swore he had seen him tinkering with the coffee machine earlier. Not that Holt would ever again touch that machine-spawn of satan.

"You don't enjoy my driving?" Shepard asked while faking a serious tone.

"I don't enjoy carrying you over a great distance for when you lose consciousness again." Holt joked as they got into the mako.

"You're saying that I'm heavy?" Shepard said with a dead-serious voice. Holt thought for a second that he had offended her before she started laughing and turning towards the comm unit. "Take us down quite a distance away from the Cerberus base, Joker. Better safe than sorry." Holt let out a groan to show his disapproval but Shepard simply kept on laughing and ignored him.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Debris was falling all around her and even though she was in a very high tech suit and helmet that could probably take a small rock or two, Shepard still protected her head with one of her arms.

"And the reason to why you couldn't use hacking or omni-gel charges was because?..." She asked Holt who was standing next to her with a recently fired rocket launcher.

"Because this might be my last chance on the mission to use this." He said while motioning towards the weapon in question. Shepard had asked him to get the locked door open and had expected him to silently get it open with his omni-tool but he had quickly brought out the rocket launcher and blown the door open.

"To be fair, Commander. You never said _how_ you wanted it opened." Ashley said as she apparently sided with Holt on this. Wrex also made an approving grunt which told Shepard that she was outnumbered. Sighing in defeat, she began walking towards the now destroyed doors of the Cerberus base they had located.

"Had hoped we could be a bit stealthy on this mission."

"Element of surprise only works against groups that have poor communication and aren't run by a paranoid madman." Holt said as he jogged up to walk beside her. Ashley and Wrex brought up the rear. "Cerberus was probably well aware of us as soon as we landed on the planet. The only valuable info that can be gotten here will be here in a physical form. All the data is without a doubt already purged." Shepard didn't mind as it was a person they were searching for anyway. Admiral Kahoku was going after Cerberus but there had been no signs of fighting from before Shepard's group arrived. ow there was plenty of signs as Cerberus was stupid enough to go against a team of highly trained soldiers. And a krogan, can't forget the krogan.

"You sound like you've dealt with Cerberus before?" Ashley asked Holt as they got close to the doors. Shepard motioned for them to stack up.

"Only like once or twice. They don't care for me that much since I can look at an other species without being filled with blood lust." Shepard glanced around the corner and didn't see any enemies. She gave a nod towards Wrex who took point. "Also the fact that I was tasked with finding out info about one of their officers was something that didn't improve our relationship."

"What did you learn?" Shepard quietly asked as they made their way through the halls. She was kind of curious as Holt's stories from his work were always interesting to hear about. He'd told her stories about politicians that she would never again be able to see without bursting out in laughter.

"Not much and certainly not what the contractor wanted to find out. Some of the things I managed to dig up on her felt like it was... Let's just say that everything I wasn't asked to find out I ended up keeping a secret."

"Are you agents even allowed to do that?" Ashley asked as they scanned another room which turned out to be empty. Shepard wondered if Cerberus had already escaped through some secret exit. "Wouldn't your boss be pretty mad over you keeping information from him or her?"

"If they find out, sure. Even then you can just feign ignorance. A good agent finds out and keeps secrets from the other information brokers. the best agents finds out and keeps secrets from their own information broker."

"Couldn't you become one if you felt like it?"

"Too much paperwork involved." Shepard slightly chuckled at that before she turned towards Holt as they found yet another empty room.

"See if you can hack one of these terminals and find anything of use to us, Holt." The man in question threw her a hasty salute.

"By your orders, ma'am." He said as he made his way over to a couple of terminals that seemed to have been used not too long ago. On the other side of the room there were open cages which seems to have contained animals of some sort.

"Can you smell that?" Wrex suddenly asked. Shepard checked her omni-tool to see if it was safe to remove the helmet. The readings told her it was so she did and took a sniff of the air. She didn't notice anything but guessed that krogan had better sense of smell than humans did. She threw Wrex a questioning glance to urge him to continue. "Smells like something has been burned. It's coming from down the corridor." He answered as he motioned towards the door they had yet to enter.

"Alright, let's go check it out. How long till you're done, Holt?"

"Anything from one minute to an hour."

"Any chance of getting a more exact time?"

"Nope."

"I like how professional you're being about this." Ashley chuckled.

"Yes, well. I feel a bit free-spirited after being able to blow a large hole in something. Last time I was able to do that was against that thresher maw on Edolus."

"Which you didn't kill." Wrex quickly added. Sighing, Shepard made up a plan so that they would get through this place today.

"Alright, since something has recently been burned we need to move quickly in the chance of catching up with whoever it was that did the burning up part. Me, Wrex and Ashley will continue down the corridor, will you be fine here on your own?" She asked Holt.

"Hmm, I don't know. It might be difficult with all the resistance we've met so far in here." He said with some heavy sarcasm.

"I believe in you. You can do it. Etc etc." Shepard said as she fell in behind Wrex who was already on his way. Following Wrex's nose they scouted out several rooms along the way but found it just as abandoned as the other ones. They had only killed off around twenty Cerberus personnel outside the facility and Shepard refused to believe that had been all of them.

"I can smell it now as well." Ashley suddenly said. Shepard sniffed the air again and could this time also smell the distinct smell of burned... flesh? The smell made her feel slightly sick and hoped that they wouldn't walk into a massacre.

"It's coming from that room." Wrex said as he readied his shotgun and started moving towards one of the side rooms. The room was filled with boxes and a large oven of some sorts. 'An oven large enough to fit a large creature in it.' Shepard thought as she walked with reluctant steps towards it. Holding her breath she slowly opened it and was met with nothing but ash.

"Oh my fucking god." Ashley said as she covered her mouth and moved away from it. Shepard had to do the same as the smell hit her. Only Wrex didn't budge but Shepard thought that it was from pure willpower that he didn't look affected by the smell.

"It's not human." He calmly said. "Also doesn't smell like any other of the species I know of."

"I'm not gonna ask you how you know what different species smell like when burned to ash." Shepard said as she scanned the ashes in hope for something but her omni-tool couldn't place it. She closed the oven and made her way out of the room so that she could breathe properly again.

"They must've researching some really rare creatures here or something." Ashley said as Shepard decided to contact Holt. Now that they had found the source of the burning smell they should group up again.

"You could say that again." Holt's voice suddenly sounded from where they had come from earlier. "Did Wrex fart or something?" He laughed as he waved away the air in front of him.

"Did you manage to find out what kind of creatures they were? Or more importantly, did you find out anything about Admiral Kahoku?"

"Nothing about the admiral, sadly." He said as they continued to walk down the hall. "The creatures are... or well I guess _were _called rachni." Shepard stopped and spun around to look at the man to see if he was trying to make a joke of some sorts. His expression was serious enough though.

"Rachni as in the race that was wiped out ages ago by the krogan?" She asked, noticing that Wrex was also very interested in what Holt had to say.

"Not completely wiped out it seems. Couldn't find out where they got them from, sadly."

"What does Cerberus want to do with the rachni?" Ashley asked.

"Build an army? And before you ask me 'how are they meant to control them?'." Holt said as he looked towards Shepard who silently cursed him for being able to read her so well. "I found faint traces of the same data that ExoGeni have about the thorian." Shepard lowered her brows as she heard the name of the corporation that had decided to sacrifice a whole colony in their quest for knowledge and power.

"They were trying control the rachni using the thorian..." She said in a low voice. She hoped that they had somehow managed to cause a big dent in that operation. "Did this base have any research data concerning thresher maws?" She asked Holt. Hoping that they had no accidentally walked into a Cerberus base that had nothing to do with what happened on Edolus.

"They did. But as I said, just about all the data is gone. Think of it like an empty warehouse, we can see what kind of boxes that had been there recently but we can't be sure what they contained."

"Well, this is a lot to take in." Shepard said as she rubbed her forehead. She had hoped for a quick search and rescue mission but had somehow walked into a research facility that had somehow managed to revive a violent race believed to be extinct. "Let's find the Admiral and we'll sort all this out back on the Normandy."

"Uhm, Commander?" Ashley said with an uneasy voice from her position over by one of the doors further down. "I think we've found him." She said with a quiet voice. Shepard didn't have to guess twice that what Ashley was trying to say is that they were too late.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

_A/N - Chapter might be a bit rushed but I just wanted to get it out quick so I could celebrate the fact the story hit 100 followers and thank you people for making it possible. (If one of you unfollow now to make me look silly I'll write an angry letter and send it to a random address in hope that it's your address.) Also a bit of extra thanks to the regular reviewers. Seeing your comments brightens up my day in a weird little way.  
_

* * *

"So yeah, found evidence of Cerberus doing some research on living rachni and a dead Alliance Admiral." Holt summarized their latest mission for Tela. They had just left an Alliance station where they dropped off the body of Admiral Kahoku and was now on their way to Noveria where Matriarch Benezia, Saren's right hand woman, had been spotted. She also happened to be Liara's mother which would make for an interesting reunion.

"... Rachni?..." Tela asked with a suspicious tone.

"You don't believe me? I even sent you the data." Holt noticed a huge mass of muscle walking towards his spot down in the cargo bay and quickly ended the conversation. "Just try turning it off and then on again, see if that helps. Speak to you later!" He quickly shut off the omni-tool and turned towards the krogan. "Good evening, Wrex."

"Holt, answer my question." He grunted as he approached. Holt noticed that even though he was sitting on a pile of boxes he was somehow forced to look up to the krogan. When nothing more was said Holt motioned with his hand for Wrex to continue.

"Need to hear the question first."

"It's actually more of a demand."

"Well, I don't have much choice in this then, do I?" Holt said with a smile as he jumped down from his place. If Wrex was for some reason about to get violent he wanted to not sit on top of a pile of things that a krogan could easily throw to the side. He was also not in his armor which meant that invisibility was out of the question.

"If you learn anything else about this rachni business from your... employer, then I wanna know about it." Wrex said as Holt was thankful that he didn't mention The Shadow Broker. With his booming voice he was probably heard throughout the cargo bay. He was glad that it was a request, or demand, that he could fulfill though. Having Wrex mad at you seemed like a bad idea.

"For sure. Looking to get one as a pet? From what I've read about them they eat quite a lot and are not, by any means, house-trained."

"The only thing I'll be feeding them are bullets and blood is easily cleaned off." Wrex said and Holt could swear he could see a faint grin on the krogan's face.

"Do I want to know what you're talking about?" A female voice suddenly asked from behind the giant. Wrex nimbly, for his size, stepped aside and revealed Shepard with her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised high. "I would prefer there being no blood stains on my ship. It would involve a lot of paperwork for me and I already have more than enough."

"You don't have a secretary for that?" Holt asked.

"No, I'll demand the Alliance to get me one next time we're at The Citadel." Shepard chuckled as she unfolded her arms. Holt was still trying to learn her body language but she was oddly difficult to read. Maybe she was consciously making it so or maybe she was just that kind of person to begin with. "You're interested? The pay will be mediocre and you get a whole two weeks off each year." She asked with a smile.

"While you do sell it so well, I'll have to decline." Shepard let out a small laugh while Wrex rolled his eyes and walked away with a grunt, mumbling about something.

"Oh well, it was worth a try."

"So was there something you had in mind coming to see me or was it just the job offer?" Holt said as he motioned for her to walk with him. His stomach was reminding him that it was time for dinner.

"What can you tell me about Noveria?" Holt threw her a questioning glance asking why she wanted to know. "Benezia must be there for a reason and I hoped that you would be able to help me figure that out."

"There are plenty of info about Noveria on the extranet." Holt answered as they entered the elevator. Shepard didn't seem to care where they were going.

"I'm not interested in info such as 'The hottest bar' or 'Hotels with the best rating'. I'm interested in the info that can actually be of use." She said as Holt pressed the console to take them to the floor with the mess hall. He didn't know much about Noveria but since Shepard was asking he thought that he might as well share what he know.

"You've eaten yet?"

"What?"

"You know, the thing called 'food' that seems to be quite popular nowadays. Have you had it yet?" Shepard looked slightly baffled over the sudden change in topic but recovered quickly.

"Uhm, no. I haven't."

"Great, 'll tell you all I know about Noveria over dinner then." Holt said as he clapped his hands together. Shepard lightly shook her head with a smile. Wanting to avoid any uncomfortable silence in the elevator, Holt decided to ask her something that he hoped would cause a fun reaction. "How did _the talk_ with Alenko go?"

"Ugh..." Shepard grunted as she looked towards the doors with an irritated expression.

"That well?"

"He wants what's best for the Alliance but..." Holt noticed that she was searching for the correct words. She was still the superior officer on this ship and talking about her subordinates with someone outside the Alliance was a mine-field. "Let's just say that I wish the Alliance was more open-minded." Holt looked her over for a few moments and couldn't help but stare. She was almost never in her armor while on the ship but seeing her standing around in nothing but a tank-top and sweat pants was a sight he would never get used to. Good thing he was trained and experienced in keeping a poker face on during all situations. It was such a shame that she was an Alliance soldier. If she was just another woman that he met at a bar he would go after her with determination. Then again, if she was just another woman he would probably not be as interested. "What is it?" She suddenly asked which threw Holt out of his day-dreaming.

"Was just thinking that it's such a shame." Shepard looked at him with narrowed brows.

"Yeah, I agree. Other species and factions have so much to offer but the Alliance most of the time refuse to even consider getting outside help." She said as she thankfully misunderstood what he meant. The elevator doors opened and they both stepped out to have their little 'date'.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

Shepard walked past the security checkpoint that stood between them and the upper district of Noveria which was directly connected to the port in where they had docked. The several human guards that were posted there at the moment must've recognized her as they were staring quite openly. It wasn't the first time and it would probably not be the last but she still felt uncomfortable. Some machine made a beeping sound and she could see a flash of green on their control panels. They quickly waved her through and half-heartily focused their attention on the next squad member. Holt did not bring his favorite toy this time so hopefully there wouldn't be any problems. Liara and Garrus' entrance into the area might be troublesome depending if any of the guards have a bad day though. Shepard looked out of the windows and was met with the sight of Noveria's upper district. A very clean and sparkling district. It kind of reminded her of the upper wards on The Citadel.

"A very well-polished turd." Holt said as he walked up beside Shepard. She couldn't help but let out an agreeing giggle as she saw people running around in fancy dresses and talking loudly to their omni-tools. So very much alike the upper wards indeed.

"Hopefully we won't stay here for too long." Shepard said as she checked over her shoulder to see how things were looking for her alien friends. No guns had been drawn yet so that was a plus. "The people here probably removed the word 'fun' from their dictionary."

"Doesn't mean they can't be hilarious." Holt said with a smile. "One of the funniest guys I've met was an old grumpy mercenary man who wouldn't smile unless he got to shoot something." Holt seemed to ponder something for a moment before he continued. "Although it was quite difficult to read his facial expressions since his face had almost been blown to bits."

"And he was one of the funniest guys you've met?" Shepard asked with an amused smile. Holt could fill every quiet moment with a story of some sort. That alone made it worthwhile to bring him with her on missions.

"Yeah. He told me that he actually had fun once that didn't involve shooting and that it was awful."

"And what's the story behind you meeting such a dangerous man?"

"He wanted some man dead and contacted my boss for information about where this man might be hiding. I got tasked to deliver the info and ended up being caught in between him and some assassins that the man he wanted dead had hired."

"Trouble seems to follow you around, doesn't it?"

"You're not the first to say that. Anyway, the failed ambush only served to piss him off even more and he sort of demanded that I help him find the 'fucking assassin assholes that can't even do their job properly'."

"Your boss didn't mind?"

"My boss never found out as far as I know. I helped him on my free-time." Holt grumbled the last part. "Fucking three days that could've been spent relaxing was instead spent hunting down assassins all over The Citadel."

"How noble of you." Shepard said with a smirk as she noticed Garrus and Liara finally being free from the security's clutches and was approaching Holt and her.

"It's difficult to say no a request when the other party is aiming a gun to your head." Holt laughed.

"Did he get his revenge?"

"No, he only got to vent his anger on some more assassins. He had a lot of venting to do." Garrus and Liara reached them and threw questioning glances towards Shepard over what they were talking about. She simply shook her head in a 'it doesn't matter' kind of way.

"Ready to head out?" She asked, itching to get moving as she really didn't like this place. The turian and asari nodded and they headed further into the district. With them being in full armor they really stood out and the stares just intensified. She needed to find this Lorik Qui'in guy so they could get out of here and go after Benezia as soon as possible. Sources had told the Alliance that the Matriarch had been seen heading towards one of the research facilities further up the mountain this city was next to.

"Is it just me or did we walk into a very hostile environment?" Garrus asked, clearly as uncomfortable as Shepard when it comes to the stares.

"They're just as scared of you as you are of them." Holt told the turian in a jokingly manner.

"They've never seen an armed turian before?" He asked.

"Perhaps not one that's not under their payroll." To Holt's answer Garrus clicked his mandibles which Shepard guessed translated to a 'tsk'.

"If they're this scared of an unbribed Turian then they probably have a reason to be." He muttered.

"Careful where you're going with this, Garrus." Shepard warned. Her gut was telling her that he the turian was probably right but they have to focus on the mission at hand.

"Sounds like you wanna clean up the streets." Holt asked him as Shepard stopped to look around. She suddenly realised that she had never gotten directions to exactly where this Lorik person could be found. She didn't mention that to the others though since she wanted to keep up the illusion that she was always in control.

"Not in some vigilante way." Garrus answered. "I just wish they could cut down on the red tape. It good to have rules and regulations up until the point where it stops me from doing my work."

"You should see Omega, it's the complete opposite of this place." Holt said as Shepard checked her omni-tool to see if she indeed had gotten the location of the contact and that she had simply missed it.

"I've heard of the place. It's a heaven for criminals as there are absolutely no laws or rules to hold them back." Garrus said with a hint of disgust in his tone.

"There is one rule, though." Holt answered as Shepard had to suppress a facepalm as the location of the contact had been sent to her and she had simply missed it. Without pausing she started walking towards Lorik's office.

"What rule is that?" Liara surprisingly asked. She was such a quiet person that you could almost forget she was there from time to time. She was very talkative in private though, Shepard had noticed when they tried to make sense of the visions.

"Dont, fuck, with, Aria." Holt said with a feminine voice which forced Shepard to suppress a laugh. "And no, she's not some local prostitute whose nether-regions' health is under question." And as he said that, Shepard couldn't help but let out a brief laugh. "And next time you're lost you could just say so, Shepard." Holt added with a smirk. Shepard's laugh died down as she focused on sending an angry glare at the man, much to Garrus' and Liara's amusement.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

"You owe him after this, Shepard." Garrus said as they were all huddled together in a small lift that was taking them to the facility where Benezia had been seen heading to.

"I know." She bitterly responded. She and Liara were sitting on one side and Holt was sitting next to Garrus on the other. All of them being in combat gear in a lift that wasn't made for that sort of attire in mind.

"You never know when he'll cash in or how he'll do it." Garrus said in a low tone as if someone would listen in, which Holt hardly believed. "I know his type."

"I'll deal with it when it comes."

"Imagine if he wants you to somethi-"

"I don't feel you owe him anything for cramming us into this tiny space." Holt interrupted as the turian tried to adjust his sitting posture which only served to elbow Holt a couple of times. Holt pretended to do the same and elbowed him back. Immature? Maybe, but this ride had been slow and Holt didn't like enclosed spaces like this. Shepard seemed to notice something was bugging him.

"Restless, Holt?"

"More like bored shitless." Holt lied. Admitting that he was slightly freaking out over such a trivial thing as a crowded space would ruin his image. Also admitting the fact that he didn't care very much for the cold weather was out of the question. Mostly because you should never reveal your weaknesses to anyone if you could help it. He silently cursed his childhood for inflicting these annoying traumas on him. Vents that were half the size of him and a cold iron floor was easy to remember in the situation he was in now.

"We should arrive any minute now." Shepard said after studying him for a while. Holt felt naked once she started staring at you with those calculating eyes. Nakedness which certainly wasn't helping against this cold. Seriously, his armor should easily keep him warm. He decided that the cold was all in his mind and begun to try and convince his brain that he was in fact warm. "Will you be okay, Liara?" Shepard suddenly asked the asari sitting next to her. Holt had noticed that the daughter of the person they were going after had been quiet the whole ride. Probably not because of petty things such as a slight chill or legs accidentally touching and probably more because of the possibility that she's gonna kill her mother soon. Holt couldn't relate to that though since his mother's death wouldn't bring out any negative emotions in him.

"Yeah, just..." Her words trailed off as she struggled to give voice to her thoughts. Shepard just nodded and went back to... staring at Holt? What was it this time?

"What are you gonna do once we have brought down Saren?" She asked him and Garrus and Liara seemed interested as well.

"Why put me in the spotlight like that? Why not make that a general question to everyone here?" He asked as he raised his eyebrow.

"I've already asked them. Garrus is going back to C-sec and Liara will probably be going back to her research on the proteans." She said to which they nodded. "Which leaves you, going back to being an information agent or have you given my offer for the secretary position a bit more thought?" She added with a smirk.

"Actually thought about accepting it and then making sure you have as many meetings with politicians as possible." Holt answered back. "Also need to take advantage of this whole 'Commander Jane Shepard, First human Spectre'-thing. I'm thinking movies, tv-shows, you name it."

"You want to turn me into an actress?" She asked with an amused tone, seemingly happy that the mood in the small box had improved. Holt noticed that the weather outside had taken a turn for the worse though. Another annoying thing to be worried about.

"What? No no no, we need someone with talent to do that." He said which earned a small chuckle from Garrus and Liara.

"I'll have you know that I've been on a stage before."

"Ceremonies involving you getting some medal of honor or something doesn't count."

"On a stage as in acting." Holt raised an unimpressed eyebrow at that. He had gathered his info about Shepard and knew that she had never studied anything related to drama. "When I was seven I took part in a play that was held by the kids on SSV Kilimanjaro." Holt was left speechless for a few moments upon hearing that.

"That obviously doesn't count."

"Why not!?"

"You standing on a stage pretending to be a tree isn't acting."

"I was a lamb." Shepard said as if Holt had somehow insulted her.

"That changes everything!" Holt said with an excited voice. "Deep, emotional lines such as 'Baaah' or 'Baaaaaaaah' is very difficult for a child to convincingly deliver. Good job."

"What's a lamb?" Liara asked.

"Lambs are animal we humans use for food among other things."

"Like a _tevura_?" Holt didn't say anything to that as he got hit by a massive sense of deja-vu.

"I think we've arrived." Garrus brought them out of the strange conversation as he looked out the window. Following his eyes they could barely see the bright white building that was their destination. Seriously, with all the snow it was close to impossible to spot unless you were heading straight towards it. "And I think we've arrived at a bad time." The turian added. Holt knew what he meant. The place was radiating a hostile aura. Benezia had probably taken over the place by force. She had also probably taken a much more spacious route to the damn place. Couldn't they arrive already so Holt could get some breathing room?

"Be ready for anything." Shepard said as she brought out her weapon. With some difficulty since the space was very limited.

"After facing a geth invasion, a thresher maw, an angry krogan warlord, an ancient plant and the ashes of a race long believed to be extinct... You don't have to tell me twice." Holt said with a smile. "Seriously, Shepard. You take me to the most interesting places."

"I'm happy you like it." She answered with a playful smile of her own.

"Get a room, you two." Garrus suddenly said and Holt just realised that he forgot the two other passengers of the lift. Holt could also swear that Shepard's cheeks were slightly reddened. He hoped that it was because of Garrus' comment and not because of the cold. The cold was the more probable answer though. She quickly recovered, as expected of her.

"This doesn't count as a room?" Shepard asked as Holt noticed the lift beginning to slow down.

"It counts as a torture chamber." Holt said as he stood up, eager to get out.


End file.
